Martin works Hurdle oracle again
Runaway winner of the qualified riders’ race on the Monday of last year’s Festival, Quick Jack boasted a progressive profile in the interim on the Flat, but got into the handicap off a very low weight.
The 9-2 second favourite was a little keen racing to the first hurdle, but his rider, Denis O’Regan, got him settled soon afterwards, and positioned him on the rails, in sixth place as Rich Coast, Plinth and Hidden Cyclone took turns in front.
Without having to be asked, he moved into third place, still travelling ominously well, half a mile from home.
As the early pacesetters faded out of contention the eventual winner found himself in a share of the lead at the second last — far sooner than his rider desired.
After a mistake at that flight, O’Regan tried to keep hold of his mount and, on turning towards the final hurdle, stable companion Thomas Edison, emerged as a real danger.
The only real drama in the race came at this obstacle, where the latter, who was marginally in front, took a nasty-looking tumble.
We may never know what difference it may have made to the result, but Quick Jack was still full of running, and flew from the back of the obstacle to beat the fast-finishing Max Dynamite by a little more than two lengths, with the winner’s stable companion, Ted Veale, a gallant third.
Said an elated Martin: “It’s magic — a wonderful feeling. It couldn’t have been better going to the last. Unfortunately for poor auld Thomas Edison — a good friend of mine — he came a-cropper.
“But Quick Jack has been well all year. He came here with the right backing, had a great run the last day, at Chester, and we felt he was in as good a form today as he has been at any time of the year.
“Everything went right in the lead up to the race, and all we wanted was luck in running. Denis was very good on him, and we got that luck.
“But his form spoke for itself. He ran a blinder in Chester, where he was just chinned, and ran very well in Cheltenham, where the ground was probably a little soft. He got the better ground today, and looked the winner from a long way out.
“Ted Veale also ran a cracker, and you’d just feel sorry for Thomas Edison. He’s had a lot of bad luck down through the years, getting brought down, and today was the first time he fell himself.”
Of which of his horses would have won, had Thomas Edison not departed, Martin added: “You don’t know. The way Quick Jack powered home from the back of the last, you never know.
“Thomas Edison was coming to challenge but the other fella seemed to have a bit in hand. You don’t know, but it was great one lad won, and bad luck the other one fell.”
There ought to be plenty more to come from the winner, but plans remain fluid: “He’s a horse I don’t race too often. He had issues, we try to wrap him up and mind him, so he won’t be appearing anywhere too soon.
“We’ll sit on the fence for the moment, but you have all your options, like the Greatwood Hurdle and the Cesarewitch.
“Denis is a very good rider, and has been very lucky for owner John Breslin. He’s in the top five or six jockeys. They don’t make mistakes, and that’s why we’re very lucky to have the likes of them.”
For Youghal jockey O’Regan it was the end of a long wait to complete the Galway Plate-Galway Hurdle double. The Corkman was an emerging talent, still claiming 3lbs, when partnering Ansar to a clear-cut victory in the 2005 Plate for trainer Dermot Weld, and, now a leading professional, will seldom have ridden as easy a winner of such a competitive race.
“It means everything. I always wanted to win the race — it’s iconic,” said O’Regan.
“I sat on him during the week, he jumped and travelled great at home, and I really fancied him. He had some great handicapping experience coming into the race, so I was delighted to get the ride.
“He was brilliant today. They went a good gallop and he jumped from hurdle to hurdle, until missing the second-last. But, I had to be going forward. I didn’t want to be in front that soon, but I’d rather be on the bend, upsides or in front rather than in behind.
“He got a great jump at the last. I don’t know how he (Thomas Edison) was going (when he fell) but my horse flew from the back of the last to the line.”
O’Regan has enjoyed high-profile success in the Breslin silks in the past, most recently aboard Living Next Door in the valuable Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown’s Christmas meeting.
“Yes, they’ve been very lucky colours for me, especially in Ireland,” admitted O’Regan.
“John Breslin is a very nice man, and I was lucky for him in England a couple of times, and it just rolled forward from there.”
