O’Leary plays down War of Attrition’s Gold Cup chances

MICHAEL O’LEARY, owner of the 2006 Horse of the Year award winner War of Attrition, would be “most surprised” if his Cheltenham Gold Cup winning horse would be able to repeat his exploit next March.

Accepting his prize at the Horse Racing Ireland annual awards in Dublin yesterday, the Ryanair boss said that history showed how difficult it was for any horse to make a winning return to Cheltenham.

“We have had a three-time winner in the recent past, but experience shows how difficult it is to win a Gold Cup once, let alone twice, so I’m not expecting my horse to do that. I’m just thrilled to have won it once and I’ll enjoy every moment until someone else comes along,” said O’Leary.