RACING:NOEL MEADE was singing the praises of the Turf Club's Noel O'Brien after Cross Appeal landed a bumper payout in yesterday's €190,000 Paddy Power Chase at Leopardstown.
The youngest horse in the race produced a spring-heeled display under Paul Carberry to hold off Treacle by three parts of a length and secure a big-race prize that looked to have eluded him in last month’s Troytown at Navan when making a costly last fence mistake.
“I rang the handicapper after that complaining about him putting us up (4lb) for finishing third. But only for that the horse wouldn’t have got into the race. So it has worked out well!” Meade grinned.
On a day when the terrible toll jump racing can take was sadly illustrated, there was a fluency to Cross Appeal’s jumping that belied both his age and his breeding.
Like the classic great, Sea The Stars, he is by Cape Cross out of a mare who is a close relation of the top stallion Oratorio. But it is stamina rather than speed that is becoming his strong point.
“I’d say he’ll stay four miles because he doesn’t do a stroke. The Irish National could be a race for him,” Meade added.
Twenty six runners lined up in the Paddy Power after both Jack The Bus and Tharawaat were taken out less than two hours before the race due to the change in ground conditions, too late for reserves to get in. Their respective trainers Peter Casey and Gordon Elliott were each fined €1,900.
The well-backed 7 to 2 favourite On His Own looked well held when being brought down at the second last in the Paddy Power and that was another reverse on a bitterly disappointing day for Willie Mullins. The champion trainer lost his Grade One performer Golden Silver who took a fatal fall at the fifth fence in the Dial-A-Bet Chase won by Big Zeb. Golden Silver’s jockey Paul Townend was badly shaken and was stood down for the rest of the day. Another sad equine fatality yesterday was Miktalina who broke her back in a fall at the first in the maiden hurdle won by The Way We Were.
Mullins also saddled a couple of long odds-on losers with Sous Les Cieux managing only third at 4 to 9 in the Grade One Future Champions Novice Hurdle won by Cash And Go. However, Ballycasey supplied a morale-restoring victory for Mullins in the bumper.
Paul Townend’s woe was compounded by losing out on the Cash And Go ride and Andrew Lynch successfully stepped in, powering Edward O’Grady’s Supreme Novice Hurdle candidate to a half length defeat of Dylan Ross.
Big Zeb could be out again before a fourth attempt on the Queen Mother Champion Chase in March. Colm Murphy is targeting another clash with the current champion Sizing Europe in the Tied Cottage Chase after the 2010 two mile champ looked as good as ever in beating Noble Prince.
Ruby Walsh notched a winner in the handicap hurdle on board the 8 to 1 Cass Bligh.
Yesterday’s 16,507 attendance at Leopardstown was over 2,000 more than packed into the south Dublin course on St Stephen’s Day. They bet almost €1.8 million with bookmakers generating €1,314,447 in turnover and the Tote handling €477,838. No comparable figures with 2010 are possible as the first two days of last year’s Christmas festival were lost due to weather conditions.
