Ger Fox simply outfoxed opposition
Rogue Angel, backed from 33/1 to 16/1, had led from flag-fall under his conditional jockey but Bless The Wings under Ruby Walsh looked a major danger when edging in front at the last.
Little separated the leaders on landing but it was Rogue Angel who prevailed after a titanic struggle to the line in front of a crowd of 15,804.
Winning trainer Mouse Morris described the gap between first and second at the line as “a snot” but for Fox it was a beautiful one.
“I wasn’t sure until Ruby hit me a thump when I went by the line and then I knew it,” Fox said. “I just can’t believe it.
“I’m still pinching myself. This is my local track and I’m just trying to take it all in, it’s brilliant.”
Brilliant would be an apt description of the ride Fox gave of the Gigginstown House Stud-owned Rogue Angel. He set sensible fractions from the front and reserved enough to withstand Bless The Wings’ late thrust.
He had a willing and brave partner but his tactical nous warrants immense credit.
In the aftermath, Fox spoke of the difficulty of getting rides given the level of competition out there. Winning a race as high-profile as the Irish National will surely help his cause.
“This means the world to me,” he said. “It’s hard to get rides at the moment as there’s so many up and coming jockeys out there. It’s been a bit of a struggle so to get something like this should be a great help to me. I can’t take it in at the moment.”
Whatever he goes on to achieve, Fox will be forever grateful for his association with Rogue Angel. Last September they combined to win the Kerry National. In prevailing in Listowel, the partnership displayed qualities that served them well at Fairyhouse yesterday.
“I’ve only ridden him twice and he’s given me a Kerry National and an Irish National,” Fox said. “My thanks go to Mouse Morris and Michael and Eddie O’Leary for giving me the chance on him again.”
Trainer and rider differed on whether pre-race instructions had been given. Morris said he “gave Ger no instructions whatsoever” but Fox said he had been told to repeat the trick from Listowel. In other words: Make every post a winning one. He did just that.
“I did what I did in the Kerry National, just jumped out in front and let him do his own thing. He jumped from fence to fence and I think he only made two mistakes on the way round. Stamina is his forte. He travelled really well and pinged them all the way.
“I was headed at the last but he battled hard and he just kept finding and finding. He has guts and when he got headed, he battled back and got back up again. He never gives up. Mouse has done a great job with him.”
For his part, Morris offered a succinct but accurate assessment of the job done by Fox. “He gets on great with him.”
Two victories over marathon trips certainly indicate as much.
Having said that, Morris spoke of his surprise that the winner was allowed to dictate the terms of engagement so comfortably for so long.
“I was surprised. They can’t have gone a great gallop because they wouldn’t be able to make it with him going as easy as he was. They’ve gone very handy.”
It’s hard to imagine Fox being allowed to control the race from the front in the Aintree Grand National but it seems certain Rogue Angel will get his chance at Liverpool at some point. It might even be this year.
“I’ve entered him in the English National so we’ll see how he is. I don’t know whether he’ll get in it now but I left him in just in case he fell at the first today or something. We’ll play it by year.”
Given the Grand National is less than two weeks away it seems unlikely Rogue Angel will turn up at Aintree this time round. But whenever he does show up in Liverpool he’ll warrant respect. Particularly so if his partner is a certain Ger Fox.
Meanwhile, if Fox and Morris had a good day so too did coincidence backers as the first five races were all won by horses carrying the number eight.
Slowmotion (2-1 favourite) did not live up to her name as she got the ball rolling in the opening REA Grimes Property Consultants Juvenile Hurdle, before Sutton Place (13-8 favourite), Just Cause (16-1) and Value At Risk (11-4) followed up.
Anyone latching on would have plumped for Rogue Angel in the big race and he came up trumps at 16-1.
Just six runners in the sixth race stopped the run of ‘eights’, although there was another big performance in the seventh race as Give Me A Break (5-1) found only winner On The Shannon too good. There were only four starters in the last.
Punters placing a €1 accumulator on each of the five would have won almost €8,534.
