888Sport Handicap Chase |
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| Cheltenham 15:15 £60,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 1m 7f 199y, Class 2  |
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1 Dads Lad 7/2
2 Effernock Fizz 6/1
3 Editeur Du Gite 6/1
7 ran Distances: ¾l, 12l, 5l
Time: 4m 0.33s (slow by 8.33s)
Dads Lad stays on strongly to land the @888sport Handicap Chase under @BrianHayesb for @WillieMullinsNH and @WhitegrassRaci1 @CheltenhamRaces @HRIOwners pic.twitter.com/31BjWQ7fJS https://t.co/9wABwXxl32 via @RacingBetter
— RacingBetter (@RacingBetter) October 23, 2022
Brian Hayes gave Dads Lad a super cool ride, pouncing late to pick off Effernock Fizz inside the final furlong.
The Willie Mullins-trained winner has got his career back on track since going over fences and the trainer’s son and assistant, Patrick Mullins, said the seven-year-old will likely return to the Festival meeting in March.
“That was magic,” said Mullins. “I thought it was a Ruby (Walsh) ride from Brian. He rode him with loads of confidence and got everything right.
“We might have to look at the Grand Annual – he might get in at the bottom.
“I was a bit worried, but I left the instructions to Brian as he knows the horse. I said to ride him as you find him and he thought there was loads of pace in the race. Brian is a very good rider. It was his first winner at Cheltenham and it won’t be his last.
“He has been a big part of our team at Closutton for the past couple of years and I just thought the ride won it, to be honest.”
He added: “He is not a mid-winter horse. I think he is very well-in over hurdles and there is a big hurdle in him somewhere – and there’s a big Flat handicap in him too.
“We will look at the Connacht Hotel, the big amateur handicap at Galway next year. There are a few more pots to go for before that.”
888Sport Handicap Chase
£60,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m, Class 2
7 ran
Going: Good
1 Dads Lad 7 10-10 W P Mullins Brian Hayes 7/2
2 ¾ Effernock Fizz 7 10-8 Cian Michael Collins Sam Ewing 6/1
3 12 Editeur Du Gite 8 12-0 Gary Moore Niall Houlihan 6/1
4 5 The Widdow Maker 8 11-1 Joe Tizzard Brendan Powell 6/1
5 ¾ El Borracho 7 10-11 Oliver Greenall & Josh Guerriero Toby Wynne 17/2
6 10 Clear The Runway 6 11-3 L J Morgan Adam Wedge 11/4F
PU Poseidon 8 11-0 Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy 17/2
