Spillane's Tower digs deep to complete Grade One double

It’s quite some time since the popular trainer from Conna sent out Monty’s Pass to win the Aintree Grand National, and 16 years since his Conna Castle gave him his first Grade One, but when given the right ammunition, it’s quite clear the ability and the appetite remain as strong as ever.

Tue, 30 Apr, 2024 - 19:30

Tommy Lyons

Jimmy Mangan, minus the trademark purple and yellow St Catherine’s GAA Club hat but with his horse sporting the famous green and gold of JP McManus, had a spring in his step after Spillane’s Tower took the Grade One Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase on the opening day of the 2024 Punchestown festival.

The McManus-owned six-year-old, which Mangan has expertly plotted to make steady progress up the ladder, came here with Grade One credentials proven but stamina not so. Those concerns were dispelled when, at the end of the three miles and almost one furlong, he was able to dig in deep to repel fellow 5-2 joint-favourite and proven stayer Monty’s Star.

It was a fine ride by Mark Walsh, whose toughest task next season may be separating the array of McManus-owned top-class novices all entitled to be in the Gold Cup picture.

“I was coming near the end of the road, but this really puts me back on the motorway again,” said Mangan. “I’ll have a pep in my step now.

“Without the ammunition, you can’t fire the gun. There's nothing like this. It's a wonderful game and for the McManuses to breed the horse is the icing on the cake. I'm delighted to be delivering the goods for them.

“He looked the real deal when he arrived and I said, ‘If there's an engine inside that body, we're away.’ Thankfully, there is and what an engine he's got - he has class to burn.

“He’s only six and hopefully his future is well ahead of him. He dealt with that ground fine, but I wouldn't like to run him on tight ground as he's a big horse. It was my worry all week and I was delighted to see it rain. When it came, I had no excuses.

Of the additional demands on stamina, he added: “We had tried him at two miles, and really, he was telling us all the time that he wanted further. And when won at two and a half, he was going away at the finish.

“Punchestown is special. Everybody used to come to Punchestown long ago and even my father, when he had runners, they used to come up to Naas on the train with the horses and would ride them from Naas out to here. I’m only glad to be carrying on.” “We can dream during the summer. Hopefully all goes well, and we’ll be looking forward to the autumn.”

Deservedly, he joins Fact To File, Corbetts Cross and Inothewayurthinkin as McManus-owned horses in the top nine in the betting for next season’s Cheltenham Gold Cup, rating no bigger than 20-1 for next season’s showpiece.

In the race for the jockeys’ championship, in which Jack Kennedy led Paul Townend by seven at the start of play, there was plenty of drama. Both riders took what looked like nasty spills but, thankfully, both bounced straight back, and it was Townend who put one on the board when Daddy Long Legs, trained by Willie Mullins, coasted to success in the listed Killashee Hotel Handicap Hurdle.

To the notion that the winner might be the right type for the Galway Hurdle, Mullins suggested they may have scuppered that with the manner of the victory but mentioned that Royal Ascot could be on the agenda.

Kennedy hit the crossbar aboard Firefox, in the Grade One champion novice hurdle, but that was as good as it got for the Kerry native, who is seeking his first title.

The day’s action was played out in front of a crowd of 16,361, nicely up on the 14,937 who attended the same day at last year’s meeting.