Pizarro bounces back with emphatic success
In the end he completely outclassed his rivals to beat Best Mate’s stable companion, Rosslea, by nine lengths.
The winner was always travelling sweetly for Barry Geraghty and had this in safe keeping once easing past the front-running Satco Express coming away from the second last.
Reflecting on the Fairyhouse display, O’Grady said: “That was down to the mistake he made at the seventh or trainer-error.
“I may have over-trained him, you learn as you go along.
“Barry pulled him up at Fairyhouse and it is guys like him who make horses. The obvious plan is to come back here for the Moriarty Chase.
“After that he will head to Cheltenham (SunAlliance) for a third time.” Cashmans re-introduced Pizarro into that market at 10-1, with Therealbandit their 7-1 market leader.
O’Grady and Geraghty - it was his sixth of the three days - completed a lucrative double when Sacundai, another Fairyhouse failure, easily landed the woodiesdiy.com Christmas Hurdle.
He had the look of a winner a fair way out, as Be My Belle made a brave attempt from the front.
Sacundai edged past over two out and soon strode clear to score unextended by seven lengths.
“I think I over-trained him for Fairyhouse as well”, reported O’Grady.
“I’m 31 years in the game and am a slow learner.
“He missed Cheltenham last year and we aimed for Liverpool (beat Rooster Booster), but this time I think he will go to Cheltenham. He will have one run somewhere before then.”
O’Grady topped off a memorable afternoon when Forty Licks completed a treble in the Bumper.
Confidently handled by J P Magnier, the Supreme Leader gelding cantered ahead heading to the home turn and was far too good for the hard-ridden Petertheknot in the closing stages. O’Grady indicated that the Cheltenham Bumper was not on the agenda for his charge.
Willie Mullins’ Arch Stanton justified 2-1 to 13-8 favouritism with a comfortable enough success in the O’Dwyers’ Stillorgan Orchard Maiden Hurdle.
There was little pace on for much of the journey, with Ruby Walsh biding his time until producing his charge to lead on the approach to the last.
Eventual runner-up Tiger Cry, what an eye-catching race he ran, stayed on for second without being knocked about by David Casey.
Said Mullins, many of whose horses are currently under the weather with dirty noses: “We haven’t had many runners this week and it is nice to get off the mark.
“The horses aren’t very sick, but we will still have few runners early in the new year. The Pierse Hurdle (Leopardstown, January 11) will be next.”
Meanwhile, Mullins’s Davenport Milenium, one his inmates affected, misses this afternoon’s Bewleys’ Hotels December Festival Hurdle.
“He will run next in either the AIG back here or in the Bishop Cleeeve Hurdle at Cheltenham”, reported Mullins.
Odds-on punters were left with a real uphill task after 1-3 shot, Adarma, dived at the first flight, giving Alan Crowe no chance of keeping the partnership intact, in the Durkan New Homes Hurdle.
The market leader was so short in the betting because her main rival - at least in theory - Georges Girl, missed the race due to coughing.
The departure of Adarma saw Dessie Hughes’ Demophilos make all the running for a bloodless victory.
The five-year-old’s main claim to fame, prior to this, was finishing second to Milan in the St Leger at Doncaster.
Said Hughes: “He had leg trouble, but we got him right. He’s a good horse, but whether he would have beaten the favourite I don’t know.”
The attendance was 19,289, up 5,500 on last year.
