The first race on the card was the Paddy Power Handicap Chase and with conditions proving tiring there was a whole host of chances coming to the 2nd last. One of those was Lough Kent who appeared to be travelling really well before hitting the 2nd last and Nico De Boinville losing his irons and his chance. Those who had pressed the pace or led all seemed to fall in heap after the last with those finishing going past and this included Keel Haul who finished really well up the hill. Minella Present who was making his handicap debut also finished well to get up for 2nd and was probably unlucky as was blocked a number of times. Many of these will end up in the Grand Annual if they get in as some towards the bottom of the handicap wouldn’t currently based on the last few years figures.

The Steel Plate and Sections Novices’ Chase followed and this was won well by More of That who overcame a lay off to win. He jumped well on the whole and won a shade cosily from As De Mee who had both fitness and chasing experience on his side. Dell Arca ran on for 3rd and should improve for that run whilst the disappointment was Might Bite who looked like he thought the fences Might Bite at the start of the race and was jumping way too big over them. These exertions probably cost him late on and he could only finish 5th.

The 4 runner Neptune Hurdle proved to be very informative and with John Ferguson stating before the race he was unsure whether Penglai Pavilion would stay this far on the testing ground it was clear from the outset what Champers On Ice and Shantou Village had planned. They raced quite hard up front and despite coming off the bridle earlier, when turning for home Shantou Village kicked on a quickly put the race to bed. Penglai Pavilion was left floundering in the ground whilst Champers On Ice made a few mistakes over the hurdles. Champers On Ice will surely improve for that experience and it’s clear that Penglai Pavilion will only get this distance if on faster going and it still wouldn’t be a surprise for this one to run well at the festival if on better going. Shantou Village however was very impressive and can only get better. He finished his race off really well and looks ready made for a step up in trip and long term over fences next season. The last horse to win this race as impressively on softer conditions was Coneygree and whilst Shantou Village may not be Coneygree he is sure to develop into a very nice horse. We feel he may come back for the trials over this distance before running in the Albert Bartlett hurdle where at this early stage he looks Britain’s best chance.

The Cross Country Chase was won by Josie’s Orders and Nina Carberry claiming nothing. This was a fantastic victory even more so when you watch it back and see that Nina was up over the neck of Josie’s Orders at the ‘Canal Turn’ for the 2nd time, then the horse slipped and nearly fell over alongside Uncle Junior who did fall. At the last Josie’s Orders didn’t see the fence until late due to low sun and Nina nearly fell over the top before grinding his way back to the front to beat course specialist Any Currency. Others that had run well here before including Sire Collognes, Uncle Junior and Dogora all fell or came down in unusual circumstances and the low sun caused havoc in this race. Nevertheless the experienced Nina Carberry was able to guide Josie’s Orders round to win and whilst he is sure to go up in the weights he could still well be a big player come Cheltenham Festival with this experience under his belt.

The penultimate race was a novices handicap hurdle and this featured the gamble of the day in A Hare Breath. Having finished 2nd to Irving and 4th to Josses Hill he obviously previously had a lot of ability but had been off for 695 days. Racing back here off a mark of 120 he was gambled from 25-1 into 6-1 and was always travelling well around the outside of the field. The race was more turned into a flat race than hurdles as multiple hurdles were omitted whilst the racing line was all over the place however this didn’t stop A Hare Breath winning impressively. Dollar and Dream ran well for 4th under a very patient ride from Ruby Walsh but was never getting there whilst the unexposed Galizzi finished 2nd and has probably bumped into a very well handicapped horse.

The final race of the day was an Amateur riders handicap chase and Nina Carberry who had already won on Josie’s Orders was on the joint favourite Knock House. Derek O’Connor had been booked for the once talented Super Duty and he was duly gambled however never looked like winning. Racing prominently throughout and jumping really well the Mick Channon trained Knock House jumped the last and looked to have the race sewn when going a couple of lengths only to idle late on and Foxbridge who was getting 23lb from the winner rallied and closed to within a neck at the line however you always felt that Knock House would stay in front. Further back in the field was Return Spring who finished 5th after an amazing recovery from his jockey Sean Houlihan at the 2nd last. After not getting cleanly over the fence the jockey looked like he was coming off to the left but Will Biddick aboard Minellahalfcentury pushed him back but this left Sean laying across the back of Return Spring, somehow he managed to pull himself back into the saddle with Will looking behind him to see if he had fallen off. With no stirrups Sean and Return Spring jumped the last and ran back on and caught Minellahalfcentury for 5th placed prize money. We think Sean owes Will a drink.