Sanguine Bowe takes defeat in his stride
It was not to be, however, and there was nobody more disappointed than Michael Bowe, the man who lives, sleeps and eats with the ’Lad’ and who has trained him to a phenomenal 35 race victories.
Given that disappointment, Bowe was remarkably sanguine about what had happened and he vowed that, everything being OK, Ireland’s most popular horse would return to Cheltenham next year for another crack at winning a Festival race.
"It’s hard to be disappointed with a performance like that,” Bowe said. “Baracouda is a serious horse and Iris’s Gift, who’s only a novice, put up a fantastic performance to run the winner to a length.
"I could make loads of excuses, but there is no need because our horse gave it his all and that is what he always does. I would be disappointed if I thought I had done something wrong in his preparation, but there was nothing wrong.
"OK, so the cough he had might have set him back a little, but I’m certainly not going to use that an as excuse, because he was simply beaten on the day and that’s racing.
"Just getting him here was an achievement and getting him home safe and sound is what matters. He’ll have another day."
Asked what might be in store for Limestone Lad next, Michael said that the horse would "tell me himself" whether or not he was ready and willing for another campaign next season.
Indeed the discussion about the future between these two soul mates might take place sooner rather than later because there is a chance that the intrepid duo may go to Liverpool for the festival meeting there.
Bowe dismissed suggestions that Limestone Lad’s notorious dislike of travelling long distances and being stabled in anything other than his own box was a factor in the defeat.
"No, not at all," he said, adding: "Just look at the way he ran. He led all and put it up to the rest of them, but they had more in the tank in the end than my fella.
“He had eaten up and drank plenty when he arrived, unlike he did the last time he was here in 1999. In actual fact he remembered the place straight away.
"I don’t feel sorry for myself at all that he has not won, but I’m sorry for the horse because I think he deserved a big prize like this and, more than anything else, he’s such a great trier.
"There’s such a thin line between success and failure, but I cannot complain about the performance he put on here today. We would have liked a different result, but he is coming home safe and sound and we cannot really ask for more than that."
Although Limestone Lad is now 11 and his options may be diminishing, there is still more to this story yet and the racing public can console themselves in his defeat, that the horse with the huge heart will give them many more thrills yet in his career. Watch this space.
