Siege masters top weight in Thyestes
Wearing blinkers for only the second time. the 16/1 shot came from off the pace, edged ahead nearing the final fence and stayed on stoutly to hold the late effort of seasonal debutant The Midnight Club by three-quarters of a length, with the runner-up’s stable-companion Ballytrim, third and well-backed favourite and longtime leader Alpha Ridge fourth.
The success proved sweet for trainer Hughes, who partnered Davy Lad to finish third in the race back in 1997, less than two months before landing the Cheltenham Gold Cup, and proved the resilience of Davy Russell, bruised and badly shaken in a fall at Thurles on Thursday and in the wars again when taking a fall from Rocky Wednesday in yesterday’s opener.
“He deserved to win a good pot,” declared a delighted Hughes afterwards: “This was the plan since he finished third last year, when he was upsides Whinstone Boy at the last. We were a stone and a half better off with him today.
“He ran very well under 11-10 in the Troytown and we tried him in the Lexus at Christmas, instead of the Paddy Power. But he’s a bit short of the top class horses and I always felt he’d be capable of winning a good handicap, even with this type of weight.”
Hughes added: “They went very quick out there and this fellow was further back in the field than usual. But he jumped his way into the race and won well. The blinkers (he wore them previously in the Irish Grand National) helped him concentrate. The ground isn’t as testing as last year and they’ve done a good job altering the fences here. They seem to ride much better than before.”
With this valuable prize in the bag, Siegemaster will now be aimed at the Irish Grand National.
Mourad followed-up his Grade 2 win at Leopardstyown’s Christmas meeting when justifying 4/9 favouritism in the three-mile Galmoy Hurdle. Ridden with typical confidence by Paul Townend, the Willie Mullins-trained gelding stretched clear between the last two flights to slam Moskova by six lengths.
Mullins stated: “You’d have to say he’s improving with age. He won well, although he probably wasn’t in love with that ground. It’s hard to know how strong the form is, but he won well and I’d say he’ll be a better horse on better ground.
“I suppose you could say he’s on track for Cheltenham (Ladbrokes World Hurdle) and you won’t se him again before then.”
Also Cheltenham-bound is Plan A, which made a successful debut for Gordon Elliott in the opening Thomastown 4-Y-0 Maiden Hurdle.
The first horse Elliott has trained for owner Liam Mulryan, Plan A was previously trained fin England by Mick Quinlan, for whom he finished third behind the smart Sam Winner and Grandouet at Cheltenham.
Ridden by Paul Carberry, Plan A was very keen for most of the race, ran into traffic problems before the second last before getting a run between the last flights. Challenging at the last, he needed one smack from Carberry to master Luddenmore before being eased in the last few strides to score by a length and three quarters.
Elliott conceded, “I was worried about him on the ground. But it was important to get a run into him. He’ll head for Cheltenham now for the Fred Winter.
Elliott and successful big-race owner Michael O’Leary were expected to complete a double with 7/4 favourite Tharawaat in the P J Foley Memorial Novice Chase. But the six-year-old came off second best against the J P McManus-owned, Mouse Morris-trained The Hurl. Ridden by Niall ‘Slippers’ Madden, The Hurl survived a few serious mistakes before battling tenaciously to keep the favourite at bay by two lengths.
