Big Buck’s on the money again
The dual Cheltenham Festival winner took his career winnings through the £700,000 barrier as he came clear under Ruby Walsh as the 30-100 favourite.
The seven-year-old followed up his Ladbrokes World Hurdle win 12 months earlier by scoring on Merseyside and he again pulled off the same double, despite a less-than-polished display.
With plenty in hand of his rivals on official ratings and with Cheltenham runner-up Time For Rupert a late absentee, Big Buck’s faced the danger of finding himself in front too soon.
But Walsh bided his time and managed to hold on to the red-hot favourite under the final flight when he grasped the nettle and took command from Possol.
He then only needed to be pushed out to assert and eventually claimed Souffleur’s scalp by nearly three lengths, with Possol relegated to third.
Nicholls said: “He runs to the race and the better the race the better he is, and in a lesser race he only does enough. We all know what he is like but he is a high-class horse. He is unbeaten in eight starts over hurdles (in Britain) and he is super.
“If he is to run in, or win, a Gold Cup (one day) then he needs to be put away now and you won’t see him until Newbury on Hennessy day now. We know what we have got and we need to manage him and look after him.
“I suspect he will stay over hurdles next season as he will only be eight this time next year,” confirmed Nicholls.
Michael Smith and his wife Sandra spiked the big guns when Orsippus won the £100,000 Matalan Anniversary 4-Y-O Novices’ Hurdle.
Just as the front-running Barizan was seeing off the challenge of Sanctuaire, along came 40-1 chance Orsippus with a wet sail under Davy Condon to collar them both and go three and a quarter lengths clear.
Smith, based at Kirkheaton near Newcastle, said: “We have entered him for Punchestown and he will go there if he comes out of this race OK.”
Condon, now having a successful time back in Ireland after a spell with Nicky Richards, said: “He ran a cracker at Cheltenham considering and he shouldn’t have been the price he was today.”
