Unibet Greatwood Hurdle |
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| Grade 3 Handicap, Cheltenham 14:55 £100,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 150yds, Class 1  |
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1 West Cork 11/1
2 Adagio 11/1
3 No Ordinary Joe 8/1
4 Camprond 17/2
19 ran NR: Rockadenn
Distances: ¾l, 2l, 3¼l Time: 3m 51.20s (slow by 2.20s)
West Cork had been off the track for 631 days, but storms home in the £100,000 @unibet Greatwood Hurdle under @harryskelton89 for @DSkeltonRacing at @CheltenhamRaces pic.twitter.com/mTHxHPwhsA https://t.co/Nv1MPkF5MP via @RacingBetter
— RacingBetter (@RacingBetter) November 14, 2021
West Cork had to dig deep in the Grade Three feature but he had enough in hand to take the £56,270 first prize.
No Ordinary Joe pulled his way to the front going past the winning post for the first time and he was still there as the field turned for home, although there appeared to be plenty in behind with their races still to run.
West Cork was one of those travelling well and when Skelton asked him he moved up to take the lead jumping the last before setting sail for home.
However, Adagio was just hitting top gear under his welter burden of 11st 12lb and he made a fight of it, challenging between West Cork and the game No Ordinary Joe, but West Cork just held on.
The Skeltons were celebrating a second high-profile winner on the day after Nube Negra lifted the Shloer Chase.
But the brothers had suffered some notable reverses with Protektorat narrowly beaten in Saturday’s Paddy Power Gold Cup and leading chase hope My Drogo suffering a high-profile departure in a two-horse novice chase on Friday.
Skelton lost his whip on the way to victory, but still saluted the crowd as he passed the post.
He said: “At the last I gave him one smack and he gave the last a foot, I went to just pick it (whip) up and it caught the back of my knee, but he was always holding on. His ears were pricked and I knew I had a lot left in the tank.
“He’d been working very well at home, but I’m delighted. What a training performance. I’m a lucky boy to be riding for a fantastic team, led by a great leader in my brother.”
Unibet Greatwood Hurdle (Grade 3 Handicap)
£100,000 guaranteed, 4yo plus, 2m 87y
19 ran
Going: Good, Good to Soft in places
1 West Cork 7 10-13 Dan Skelton Harry Skelton 11/1
2 ¾ Adagio 4 11-12 David Pipe Tom Scudamore 11/1
3 2 No Ordinary Joe 5 10-12 Nicky Henderson Nico de Boinville 8/1
4 3¼ Camprond 5 11-5 Philip Hobbs Aidan Coleman 17/2
5 2½ Tritonic 4 11-7 Alan King A P Heskin 10/1
6 1½ Glory And Fortune 6 11-7 Tom Lacey Stan Sheppard 14/1
7 ½ Marie's Rock 6 11-0 Nicky Henderson Sean Bowen 28/1
8 1¾ Botox Has 5 11-5 Gary Moore Niall Houlihan 12/1
9 2 Jesse Evans 5 11-8 Noel Meade E Walsh 11/2F
10 ½ Galice Macalo 5 10-10 Mrs Jane Williams Chester Williams 14/1
11 ½ Straw Fan Jack 6 10-13 Sheila Lewis Sean Houlihan 16/1
12 hd Advanced Virgo 6 10-12 C Byrnes Daryl Jacob 10/1
13 5½ Bua Boy 6 11-1 Denis Gerard Hogan D G Hogan 14/1
14 2 Ballyandy 10 11-11 Nigel Twiston-Davies Sam Twiston-Davies 33/1
15 1 Cormier 5 10-11 Brian Ellison Danny McMenamin 12/1
16 ¾ Mick Maestro 8 10-9 Nick Kent Charlie Hammond 125/1
17 5 Rowland Ward 5 10-10 Stuart Edmunds Brian Hughes 20/1
18 ¾ Mount Windsor 6 10-12 Chris Gordon Tom Cannon 125/1
19 10 Tudor City 9 11-4 A J Martin Miss M O'Sullivan 40/1
NR 9 Rockadenn 5 11-3 Alastair Ralph NON RUNNER
