After a morning inspection decided that the chase course was unraceable, Punchestown went ahead with an under-strength five-race card yesterday, but there was nothing under-strength about the bookies satchels following Ballygowan Beauty's 16 to 1 victory in the Stanley Cooker Champion Novice Hurdle.
Only Strontium was longer price among the nine runners, and it was His Song's stable companion Foxchapel King that was latched on to in the market. Tony McCoy's mount went off the 9 to 4 favourite but was done for fully six furlongs out and was pulled up after the second last with a swollen knee.
At that stage, the race looked good for the mare Generosa. Strontium belied his SP by setting a spanking pace, only for the amateur rider Tim Hyde to range alongside on Generosa on the turn in.
Ballygowan Beauty had been out the back and largely ignored until Conor O'Dwyer gradually made his ground and tracked the two front runners into the straight. Nevertheless, Generosa looked to have his measure until a drift to her left presaged a horrendous last-flight mistake.
Hyde was almost shot out of the saddle as his tired partner's nose hit the ground, and O'Dwyer quickly grabbed his chance and kicked Ballygowan Beauty three lengths clear to vindicate his trainer Michael Hourigan's judgement.
"We worked him at Clonmel last Thursday and he finished a furlong clear. I begged Charlie (O'Brien, owner) to let me run him here and he just said "it's your head on the block". The way he was ridden in Liverpool didn't suit him, and I thought if Generosa was given a chance today, then we were a certainty since he beat her the last day," Hourigan said.
Irish confidence that top-class bumper races are a glorified benefit for Irish-trained horses took something of a blow when the Grand National-winning trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies provided King's Road to take care of the highly regarded Colonel Yeager, To Your Honour and the favourite, Siberian Gale, in the Doncaster Bloodstock Sales Champion Flat Race.
Mind you, the Gordon Elliott-ridden winner had to fight like a trojan to get back up after being headed by the year younger Colonel Yeager a furlong out, but it was no surprise to Twiston-Davies, who said: "This horse is very tough and needs soft ground. He jumps well so we can look forward to next season."
Native-Darrig has hard work to look forward to, but he would have it no other way, said trainer Willie Mullins after the Richard Dunwoody-ridden gelding had thrived on the ground to beat Theatreworld by eight lengths.
"He's an incredible horse who pulls out fresh every morning and loves his training. All year we've been going for the best prizemoney handicaps, and while I didn't think we'd have to wait this long to win one, it's great to win at Punchestown. The Galway Hurdle wouldn't be my first priority for him as I don't think the track suits him, but he might go to Killarney and he'll go chasing next season," Mullins said.
Ferbert Junior was bought last year with the purpose of winning at this festival and the long-range plan paid off in style when Jessica Harrington's gelding took the Dunne Handicap Hurdle to give Tony McCoy his third winner of the festival.
"He's owned by David Attwood from Cheltenham and Richard Upton from Jersey and I'm delighted for them. Chasing will be his game next year and he's certainly big enough for it," said Harrington.
The unusual day opened with Tom Foley's As Royal, a 14 to 1 shot, showing a commendable turn of foot in the circumstances to go eight lengths clear of Micko's Dream in the novices hurdle.
