Oscar survives blunder to foil favourite

Chasing debutant Cara’s Oscar recovered from a blunder at the second last fence to land the Rockathon Returns To Fairyhouse September 5th Beginners Chase in Fairyhouse yesterday, giving jockey Robbie Power his 40th success of the season.

The Colm Murphy-trained nine-year-old, off the track since scoring at Killarney last July, edged ahead at the final fence before staying on to beat favourite Jarob by three-quarters of a length with the flattering Fort Smith a close third.

“I suppose he deserved that on hurdle form,” said Murphy. “He’s had a lot of problems and our biggest problem has been keeping him sound. But to be fair, when he gets to the track, he runs well. He’s not over-big but if we have a clear run with him, we should have plenty of fun with him for the summer.”