Savills Chase |
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| Grade 1, Leopardstown 14:20 €175,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m, Class 1  |
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1 Conflated 2/1F
2 Kemboy 18/5
3 Fury Road 7/1
7 ran NR: A Plus Tard Distances: 5l, 1¼l, ½l
Time: 6m 24.10s (slow by 42.10s)
Conflated is cut for @CheltenhamRaces Gold Cup after winning the Savills Chase at @LeopardstownRC - a second Grade 1 success @gelliott_racing @jackkennedy15 pic.twitter.com/rnPmEETIGJ https://t.co/ZppSmXbgNB via @RacingBetter
— RacingBetter (@RacingBetter) December 28, 2022
The Gordon Elliott-trained Conflated was a surprise winner of the Irish Gold Cup over the course and distance last season and went on to run well before falling two from home in Cheltenham’s Ryanair Chase before pushing Clan Des Obeaux close in the Bowl at Aintree.
Expected to improve from his seasonal reappearance in the Champion Chase at Down Royal in October, in the absence of the withdrawn A Plus Tard Conflated was 2-1 favourite and ultimately outclassed his rivals.
Kemboy, winner of this race in 2018 and fourth, second and third in each of the past three years, adopted his customary pacesetting role under Paul Townend, but it was clear the soon to be 11-year-old was struggling to shake off the two years younger Conflated and Jack Kennedy allowed him to stride to the lead heading out onto the second circuit.
In truth the market leader bossed the contest from there home and Kennedy could even afford to begin celebrating on the run-in as he passed the post with five lengths in hand.
Kemboy ran another brave race to be placed once more in second, with the winner’s stablemate Fury Road coming from further back to pick up the bronze medal.
QuinnBet reacted by trimming Conflated’s Gold Cup odds to 14-1 from 33-1, while Coral offered the same price from 40s.
Christmas Steeplechase
€175,000 guaranteed, 5yo plus, 3m, Class 1
7 ran
Going: Soft, Yielding in places
POS. DIST HORSE AGE WGT TRAINER JOCKEY SP
1 Conflated 8 11-10 Gordon Elliott Jack Kennedy 2/1F
2 5 Kemboy p 10 11-10 W P Mullins Paul Townend 18/5
3 1¼ Fury Road 8 11-10 Gordon Elliott Jordan Gainford 7/1
4 ½ Franco De Port 7 11-10 W P Mullins Danny Mullins 16/1
5 6 French Dynamite 7 11-10 M F Morris Darragh O'Keeffe 15/2
6 36 Galvin 8 11-10 Gordon Elliott Sam Ewing 100/30
7 nk Royal Rendezvous 10 11-10 W P Mullins Brian Hayes 20/1
NR 1 A Plus Tard 8 11-10 Henry De Bromhead NON RUNNER
