Watson remains the undefeated pursuer
The Willie Mullins-trained Lecky Watson increased his record over fences to 2-2 with victory in the Sky Bet, For The Fans Novice Chase.
He moved up to Level 3 after beating last year's Sky Bet Supreme winner Slade Steel in a novice event at Naas in mid-December. The 5/4 favorite saw off Gordon Elliott's Down Memory Lane (6/4) with an eight-length winner, with his stable companion Farren Glory (11/2) a further three and three-quarter lengths behind in third place.
Winning jockey Paul Townend said: “He was still enjoying the scenery, it was my job to get him to concentrate.”
“The fourth and third to last jumps were the best jumps he did, but the motor is there and he did it very quickly.
“He's probably matured this year because when Mark (Walsh, who rides Down Memory Lane) came with me he didn't want to run.
“The engine is there, but I think we need to work on his jumps. It was frozen all week and we couldn't give it any freshener either, which probably didn't help.
“He sorted things out quickly and they weren’t after him. I always thought he was a stayer, but he was just so hard on himself. If he relaxed more, it would be more likely to go out (in motion) rather than back, and you would leave.”
Sky Bet responded by cutting Lecky Watson from 20/1 to 12/1 for the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase at Cheltenham in March.
Kappa Jy Pyke completed a Punchestown treble for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend – who also won the Sky Bet Nowcow Flyer Novice Hurdle with Salvator Mundi – with victory in the Sky Bet Acca Freeze Maiden Hurdle.
The French recruit had to settle for silver last month as he was the clear favorite on his Irish debut in Cork and had a good chance of going one better at the second attempt.
Always keeping up with the pace, Kappa Jy Pyke seemed to have a real race on their hands heading into the final flight, with market rival Don'tstopthemusic producing a well-timed challenge.
However, the latter suffered a heavy fall, leaving the Mullins runner free and at the finish line 17 lengths ahead of eventual runner-up Brave Brigadier.
Townend said: “It was a nice performance. He was building up well to Cork in every respect as far as jumping was concerned and he lost his freshness with the run.
“I thought he cleverly picked up speed on the straight. I was actually quite impressed with him.
“The horse that beat us in Cork (Sky Lord) ran well in the race before (finished fourth in the Moscow Flyer Novice Hurdle) so the form was there if he built on that and I think he did.”
“I didn’t know how the horse behind me was going, but I was still picking up speed and thought it would take a fair horse to get past me.”
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Finny Maguire steered Nine Graces to a clear victory in the Sky Bet Extra Places Every Day Amateur National Handicap Chase.
Barry Connell's charge was 11/4 to have a better chance than when second in a mares' chase at Fairyhouse last month and it wasn't difficult to score by four lengths from Prince Zaltar.
“We kind of expected that, she’s very fit,” Connell said.
“When she ran hurdles from a higher mark, three miles on soft ground was what she wanted. Her jumps were a revelation, she was very fast. She's not the biggest mare, but she's just very precise.
“Maybe she'll squeeze in something nice away from her revised brand – a nice handicap chase like the Leinster National at Naas.” I'm delighted for Finny, who's working full-time for us. He gets the opportunity because we split the driving between Sean (Flanagan) and him. He is a very good driver.”
The father and son team of Edward and Kieren Buckley teamed up to win the Sky Bet Build A Bet Beginners Chase with a surprise winner Nope.
After previous outings with Prunella Dobbs in Ireland and Danny Brooke in the UK, the seven-year-old was 33/1 odds on his first start for new connections, having been off the track since June and not over any obstacles since March 2023.
The seven-year-old jumped well on his comeback debut and was on top when he passed the post by two and a half lengths.
Coach Edward Buckley said: “It’s his first run for us and it’s all down to Kieren. He told me the horse was being sold in Doncaster, I didn't know anything about it, he said he had won with him in Cork and had been in England for a while.
“I said let's take a look at him, made a few phone calls and asked a boy to look at him to make sure he wasn't missing a leg or anything! I bought him online for £5,000 and when we got him home I thought he was the right horse.
“He can't half jump, he's a big, strong boy and brave as a lion. He won like he would win again.”
After a four-timer race at Fairyhouse on Saturday, Gavin Cromwell rounded off his excellent weekend work with saddling Office call in London (7/1) to reach the final Albert Bartlett Triple Crown Series Qualifier Handicap Hurdle.