Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase |
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| Grade 1, Leopardstown €100,000 5yo plus, 2m 1f, Class 1 |
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| Friday 27th December 2013 | |
1 Benefficient 9/1
2 Hidden Cyclone 8/1
3 Arvika Ligeonniere 7/4F
7 ran Distances: ¾l, ½l, 15l
TIME 4m 8.50s (slow by 2.50s)
Tony Martin's Benefficient was a surprise winner of the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase at Leopardstown.
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Despite winning the Irish Arkle over the course and distance earlier in the year and landing the Jewson Novices' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, the seven-year-old appeared up against it in this Grade One event after a poor show on his seasonal bow in the Charlie Hall at Wetherby, and he was sent off a 9-1 chance.
Benefficient raced in third under Bryan Cooper as last year's winner Sizing Europe cut out the running, and was one of three in with a big chance at the final fence after the veteran dropped away, proving strongest on the run-in to beat the slightly hampered Hidden Cyclone, with the favourite Arvika Ligeonniere in third.
A stewards' inquiry ensued, but the placings remained unaltered, and Martin said: "He runs well for Bryan and you could see halfway down the back straight he was going well. Bryan just suits the horse so well.
"I should never have run him in Wetherby. He worked 12 days before that with Flemenstar at Tipperary. What Flemenstar did to him that day was unreal and he left his race behind as he did far too much.
"The Topham Chase at Aintree was in my mind before today, but he'll probably be too high in the handicap now and we'll have to think about races like the Ryanair at Cheltenham, or maybe even the Queen Mother Champion Chase if the ground was soft."
Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase (Grade 1)
€100,000, 5yo plus, 2m 1f, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Soft
| Horse | Trainer | Jockey | |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1st |
Benefficient 9/1 | A.J.Martin | B.J. Cooper |
| 2nd 3/4 L |
Hidden Cyclone 8/1 | John Joseph Hanlon | Andrew J. McNamara |
| 3rd 1/2 L |
Arvika Ligeonniere (FR) 7/4 | W.P. Mullins | R. Walsh |
| 4th 15 L |
Sizing Europe 11/4 | Henry de Bromhead | A.E. Lynch |
| 5th 14 L |
Baily Green 10/1 | M.F.Morris | D.J. Casey |
| 6th 17 L |
Rubi Light (FR) 20/1 | Robert Alan Hennessy | D.N. Russell |
| 7th 13 L |
Kid Cassidy 9/2 | Nicky Henderson (in GB) | A.P. McCoy |
