Unibet Greatwood Hurdle
Grade 3 Handicap, Cheltenham 15:00
£100,000 added,
4yo plus,
2m 150yds, Class 1  
Sunday 17th November 2019

QuinnBet

1 Harambe 16/1
2 Gumball 9/1
3 Monsieur Lecoq 9/1
14 ran NR: Grapevine Distances: nk, nk, 1¼l
Time: 4m 10.64s (slow by 19.64s)

The 16/1 shot Harambe swooped late to land the feature contest of the day by a neck, from the Philip Hobbs-trained Gumball in second.
 
Winning owner Niall Farrell was delighted with the performance and said: " This is very special. You want to have winners at Cheltenham, but to have the winner of the Greatwood is extra special.
 
" He is a horse we have always liked and the Greatwood was something that we had in mind this season.
 
" He goes well on the ground and I'm delighted that he has won today. "
 
Bellamy said: " I can't describe how lucky I feel. First and foremost, with Wayne [Hutchinson, formerly first jockey at Alan King's yard] retiring, it's a good start for the new way things are at Alan's now. Onwards and upwards from here, hopefully. 
  
" I knew that he would run well - it's obviously different to winning, but I thought he would be in the first six. A strongly-run race would suit him and the ground was a question, but the guv'nor gave me great instructions. He said to switch him off, think about the last half of the race and see how I go. 
 
" Harambe was very fresh at Chepstow. I spoke to Wayne this morning and he gave me great advice, very similar to the boss. He said switching off was my main objective and to forget about the race to start with - once he is switched off, then start worrying about the race. 
  
" He wasn't completely switched off but he wasn't half as keen as he was last time. He has taken me everywhere I needed to be and won nicely.
 
" It's surreal. I was lucky enough to win at this meeting on Splash Of Ginge [the BetVictor Gold Cup] two years ago, and as soon as you do it you want to do it again. I know it is a different race, but it's the second-biggest of the weekend, and the timing of it as much as anything means an awful lot. Hopefully, it might seal the deal of moving up the pecking order at Alan King's.
 
" I won this horse's first bumper on him and rode him in his next two, and he ran away with me a bit at Newbury one day and the boss put Wayne back on him, which is completely fair enough - he was the stable jockey - so it was great to be entrusted with the ride today. And to win, hopefully that repays that trust a little bit."

Boylesports

Unibet Greatwood Hurdle (Grade 3 Handicap)
£100,000 added, 4yo plus, 2m 87y
14 ran
Going: Soft, Heavy in places

POS DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1    Harambe 6 11-0 Alan King Tom Bellamy 16/1
2 nk Gumball 5 11-10 Philip Hobbs Ben Jones 9/1
3 nk Monsieur Lecoq 5 11-8 Mrs Jane Williams Lizzie Kelly 9/1
4 1¼ Quoi De Neuf 5 10-6 Evan Williams Adam Wedge 7/1
5 4 Dame De Compagnie 6 10-9 Nicky Henderson Barry Geraghty 6/1
6 3½ Zanza 5 10-13 Philip Hobbs Richard Johnson 9/1
7 5 Countister 7 11-4 Nicky Henderson Aidan Coleman 16/1
8 ¾ Quel Destin 4 11-12 Paul Nicholls Harry Cobden 13/2
9 5 Mohaayed 7 11-12 Dan Skelton Bridget Andrews 33/1
10 7 Torcello 5 10-4 Shaun Lycett Marc Goldstein 16/1
11 13 Monsieur D'Arque 5 10-2 Dan Skelton William Marshall 25/1
7 12 Benny's Bridge 6 11-0 Fergal O'Brien Paddy Brennan 9/2F
10 8 Humble Hero 5 10-8 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 20/1
PU De Mazzaro 5 10-0 T G McCourt Darragh O'Keeffe 25/1
NR 15 Grapevine 6 10-0 Sophie Leech NON RUNNER