Russell excels as Mansony proves just Champion
In truth, he largely owed the victory to a staggeringly confident drive from in-form Davy Russell, who pulled this right out of the fire.
Russell sat out the back, as Newmill and Justified carried the field along for much of the journey.
Justified got the best of that battle over the second last and, at this stage, Mansony was a remote sixth.
Justifed has a tendency to jump to his left and, in the end, it was to cost him dearly. He went that way at the final fence, as Russell brought Mansony with an irresistible surge.
Justified ended up towards the stands rails, while Mansony raced powerfully over on the far side. It was the difference between victory and defeat, aided by a touch of the Russell genius, and Mansony was a length and a quarter to the good at the line.
“I knew after the third last, when he began to rock and roll, that we had a fair chance”, reported Russell.
Moore was full of praise for his rider. “Davy rode a beautiful race, that was very clever”, said Moore.
“I have been looking forward to running the horse in this class. Now that he was won a Grade 1, we must go down that route.
“He’s an eight-year-old on the up and would have preferred softer ground. His trip is two to two and a half and we will go wherever the music takes us.
“He’s a super horse with a big heart. The Champion Chase is on the agenda, but I don’t know if he would be good enough for that.”
There was a sting in the tail for Russell, however, who was fined €750 for breaking away early from the parade.
Justified’s trainer Dusty Sheehy said: “You’ve got to be happy with that and he’s run a blinder. I just wish there had been more cut in the ground.”
