McCoy puts pain to one side to claim JLT on Taquin Du Seuil
This was vintage McCoy, as he drove his charge for all he was worth up the straight, after the front-running Uxizandre had kicked hard off the final bend.
Double Ross also joined in the fun and there was little or nothing to choose between the trio rising to the last.
On the flat, however, it was Taquin Du Seuil who showed the greater resolution and he was nicely on top close home to score by three parts of a length.
Said McCoy: “I'm pleased for Jonjo, but a bit gutted I beat my boss (J P McManus), who kindly let me off to ride.
“Jonjo is a great man to work with, if you find a fella who brings his horses to Cheltenham in better form you will be doing well.
“Taquin stays and is quite cute, he knows how to get himself round.”
Commented O'Neill: “Today they went a good gallop which suited him.
“It was very kind of JP to offer us AP, but I'm sure he might have wanted to change his mind from the second last.
“I'd say AP makes all the difference.
“I was a bit nervous yesterday with the ground drying out, but I was glad they put a bit of water on overnight. I think that helped us.
“We wanted a good gallop and AP was comfortable to lie up behind them, the horse likes a good lead and stays well.
“Everything went according to plan, I'm glad AP has had a winner this week.
“He’s got a long stride, but AP knows him well and if he’d asked him for a couple of big leaps he’d have landed on top of them, he was clever as they were going a fair gallop.
“It should ease the pain in AP’s back (after a fall on Wednesday).”
For McCoy it was a 30th festival success.
O’Neill, recording his second win of the meeting, added: “I've always liked this horse. I always thought he’d be a better horse when he went chasing.
“He’s a bit of a character, but he’s been working fantastically.
“He's one for the future and, hopefully, can become a Gold Cup horse - you’ve got nothing if you haven’t got dreams in this game.”
“We believe he’s got a lot of speed and we did try him over two miles.
“He’s won over a mile and seven (furlongs) on the Flat in France. You don’t know until you run them over it, but if he does get the trip he’s a proper horse.
“I don’t know (if he’ll run again this season). That was the plan and we’ll have a rethink.
Willie Mullins' Felix Yonger was sent off the 7-2 favourite, but was a bit disappointing. He could not raise his tempo through the last half-mile, finishing a well-beaten fourth in the end.
Trainer Alan King said of runner-up Uxizandre: “I couldn’t be happier with him.
“We hoped he would run well and we had disappointed him at Warwick (when he finished fifth at the track back in February) as we dropped him in a bit, so Choc (Thornton) wanted to make use of him.
“He has to go left-handed, which rules Punchestown out, but there’d be options of Aintree and Future Champions’ race at Ayr.”
Nigel Twiston-Davies is also likely to head to Aintree with Double Ross.
The Naunton handler said: “He’s run another great race and I’m very happy with him.
“We have no firm plans but he’ll probably go on to Liverpool now.”
