Thank you Kieran, you made this horse

LAR BYRNE put it best when he said Hardy Eustace won yesterday's Cheltenham Champion Hurdle with two jockeys on his back.

The winning owner wasn't just referring to Conor O'Dwyer, who steered the Irish outsider to a famous triumph over reigning champion Rooster Booster, but also to Kieran Kelly, who rode the horse to victory in the SunAlliance Hurdle here last year, but tragically died after a fall at Kilbeggan last summer.

The emotionally charged atmosphere of the Champion Hurdle winners' enclosure welled up completely when O'Dwyer rode his charge in to a hero's welcome.