PWC Champion Chase |
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| Grade 2, Gowran Park 15:45 €42,000 added, 5yo plus, 2m 4f, Class 1 |
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| Saturday 3rd October 2015 | |
1 Cailin Annamh 9/1
2 Alelchi Inois 9/2
3 Clarcam 7/2
7 ran Distances: ½l, 3¾l, 4¾l
TIME 4m 51.00s (slow by 5.00s)
Cailin Annamh made a remarkable recovery after almost falling at the sixth fence to take the PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park in gutsy fashion.
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Barry Geraghty sat tight to keep the partnership intact after Jessica Harrington's mare made a mess of that obstacle.
She had made the running to that stage, but relinquished the lead to Alechi Inois. Willie Mullins' charge was still at the head of affairs at the final fence but Cailin Annamh (9-1) had worked her way back into contention.
She outbattled Alechi Inois and Ruby Walsh on the run-in and snatched the Grade Two spoils by half a length.
Clarcam was third, while Galway Plate victor Shanahan's Turn never got in a blow and faded tamely in the straight.
Harrington said: "She was great. Thank God Barry did pony club games and hunting as he sat very well when she made the mistake!
"She was tough. That's 10 races she's won now - she's something else. The ground is the key to her.
"She got a lead after the mistake, which helped her. In Galway we made the running and put blinkers on as we thought she was getting a bit tardy and not trying. It would have been a brave call to take the blinkers off.
"She's brave, such a good mare, and she doesn't know when she's beaten. Ruby was trying to tighten her up all the way up the straight but she said 'I'm not letting you do that to me'.
"It's great to win this race as she's a Grade Two winner now. She's a little bit ground-dependent so I don't have any plans at the moment."
