Cooper breaks leg after Tepalo fall

On a day when Cheltenham and Aintree hero Bryan Cooper was removed to hospital in Belfast with a broken leg after a fall from Tepalo in the beginners chase, Gordon Elliott took the honours with a double on Bank Holiday Monday in Down Royal.

Cooper later too to Twitter to reveal he will go under the knife today.

He wrote: “Thanks for all the msgs. Broke my left femur so having an operation in d morning also thanks to all the staff at @Downroyal for there help!”

Elliott landed the featured, four-runner Sean Graham Bookmakers Hurdle with the versatile Bondage and followed-up when Baby Grey, a dual point-to-point winner, justified odds-on favouritism in the bumper, continuing the superb strike rate of Elliott and Jane Mangan.

Bondage — 140-rated — ridden by Davy Condon, readily brushed aside the challenge of odds-on favourite Gold Bullet, prompting Elliott to explain: “It’s compensation for not making the cut for the Chester Cup. He was entitled to win on ratings and is a great money-spinner, for the size of him. He’ll go for a flat handicap next and then go chasing.”

After Baby Grey beat three rivals I the bumper, Elliott added: “He is what he is. He stays going and will run away for the summer.”

Also set for a summer campaign at the festivals is Henry de Bromhead’s House Rules, which made a successful handicap debut, under Andrew Lynch, in the Daily Mirror Handicap Chase.

“He jumped brilliantly in his first handicap,” said de Bromhead.

“He’s a smashing fun horse for the summer.”