Flame Bearer clung on at Fairyhouse to guide house a Willie Mullins whitewash in a
WilllowWarm Gold Cup marred by the fatal fall of Mighty Potter.
Eight runners went to submit for the two-and-a-half-mile Grade One, with the champion coach saddling six in his bid for a fifth successive victory in a race which has his two Cheltenham Gold Cup heroes Al Boum Photo (2018) and Galopin Des Champs (2022) on its roll of honour.
The turning level got here within the again straight, with Gordon Elliott’s 6-5 favorite and four-time Grade One winner Mighty Potter struggling a heavy fall, impeding Gavin Cromwell’s outsider Brides Hill, who was in the end pulled up.
Mighty Potter fell closely within the again straight
From there on it was only a query of which Mullins runner would declare prime honours and whereas he was weary on the run-in after main from flag-fall, Flame Bearer and Sean O’Keeffe had simply sufficient within the tank to carry on by half a size from Sir Gerhard and Patrick Mullins.
Appreciate It was better of the remaining in third, with James Du Berlais, Authorized Art and Adamantly Chosen the opposite finishers.
Of the winner, Mullins’ assistant David Casey mentioned: “He’s a decent horse but he probably wouldn’t have been my first choice.
“I believed what he did in Thurles the final day was superb. He bucked out, jumped effectively, went a gallop and saved at it. If you’ve got these novices leaping effectively in entrance, it is an enormous assist.
Paul Townend is pressured to sit down tight as Flame Bearer survives an error at Fairyhouse
“Sean went at it, went a good gallop and he jumped great. He got into a lovely rhythm and he did it well.”
When it was put to him that he might be a Ryanair Chase horse for subsequent 12 months, Casey added: “Hopefully, why not, we’ll aim for the stars. That’s the route you’d have to be looking anyway.”
Discussion about this post