Ambitions both young and old got fulfilled in superb style at Cheltenham on Wednesday as veteran trainer John Kiely and amateur schoolboy jockey John Gleeson combined to both win at the festival for the first time with the aptly named A Dream To Share.
On his first festival ride, Gleeson, 18, a son of RTÉ pundit Brian Gleeson, and who’s studying for his Leaving Cert, guided A Dream To Share to a hugely emotional victory in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at odds of 7-2.
The winner was sold to JP McManus after the homebred scored for Gleeson in his mother’s colours at Leopardstown last month and the purchase paid off as he passed the post over a length clear of the 16-5 favourite Fact To File, carrying McManus’s first colours.
It was a 70th festival winner for Cheltenham’s most successful owner but whatever the silks there was widespread delight for Kiely who at 85 finally broke his Cheltenham duck after almost half a century training. He is believed to be the festival’s oldest ever winning trainer.
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“Did that just happen, I can’t believe it!” beamed Gleeson while his senior partner was characteristically composed.
“I knew the horse was tip-top but I was worried about the ground so I’m delighted with the way it worked out.
“Just with the ground I worried that he’d get there too soon, but the young man was fantastic. He’s been coming in every morning to ride him. He’ll muck out and he’ll do everything, I just hope he keeps his feet on the ground now!” joked Kiely who is based near Dungarvan in Co Waterford.
“I’m 86 in May. I gave up riding out three years ago with Covid. I’ve spent my life in racing, you never think as a youngster you’d get to be in this hallowed spot,” he added.
A Dream To Share was the final leg of another five Irish trained winners on Day 2 which began with Impaire Et Passe’s ultra-impressive success in the Ballymore Hurdle.
Dethroned as favourite by the English hope Hermes Allen, the Willie Mullins-trained horse lived up to his reputation and more by leading home a 1-2-3 for the trainer who has enviable choices to make with the winner next season.
“You have to look at everything, including the Champion Hurdle. Yesterday I was telling Michael Buckley, we’ll have to go shopping again to find one to beat you [Constitution Hill], but maybe we haven’t yet!
“He’s in the same sort of mould with his speed, jumping and the way he came up the hill, so maybe we have one,” said Mullins who also landed Wednesday’s feature, the Champion Chase, with Energumene.
As expected, Gordon Elliott’s pair Galvin and Delta Work fought out the Cross-Country finish with the latter repeating his 2022 victory under Keith Donoghue.
Elliott equalled Enda Bolger’s tally of five wins in the race and Delta Work is 14-1 for another shot at the Aintree National next month.
“It isn’t everyone’s cup of tea but a winner at the Festival is a winner,” said Ryanair boss, Michael O’Leary. “Some horses do take to it and some don’t. Tiger Roll took to it and Delta has taken to it well again.”
Another jockey breaking his festival duck was Darragh O’Keeffe after guiding Henry de Bromhead’s 22-1 outsider Maskada to a surprise success in the Grand Annual.
“I was just touched off last year in the Coral Cup and then I was touched off here in the Paddy Power as well,” exclaimed O’Keeffe. “I was starting to get nightmares about this place!”
At the halfway mark of Cheltenham 2023 the Prestbury Cup score is 10-4 in favour of the visitors.
The reality that National Hunt racing in Britain and Ireland operates as two sides of the one coin has rarely been more evident than after The Real Whacker’s dramatic success in the Brown Advisory Chase.
Trained by Paddy Neville, the winner is part-owned by Neville’s childhood friend Davy Mann who owns pubs and a hotel in their native Co Limerick.
Neville is in his first full season based in North Yorkshire after struggling to survive as a trainer in Ireland.
That move was vindicated in style with a hugely exciting performance as English jockey Sam Twiston-Davies got just about enough from The Real Whacker to repel Gerri Colombe’s final surge by a shorthead.
