KEITH DISPLAYS BOTTLE’ TO GET OVER THE LINE
BOTTLER’SECRET graduated to Grade Two company in style with victory in the O’Driscoll’s Irish Whiskey Juvenile Hurdle.
The four-year-old was a dual winner on the Flat for Ciaran Murphy before changing hands and moving to Gavin Cromwell, for whom he made an impressive hurdles bow at Naas in February.
Bottler’secret strolled to an 11-length success in a Grade Three contest on that occasion — a result which saw him sent off the 4-1 secondfavourite for this twomile event.
British raider Givemefive raced prominently but began to feel the pressure turning for home, with Bottler’secret travelling sweetly for Keith Donoghue having also been to the fore.
He was well in control jumping the penultimate flight and stretched clear after the last, coming home three and threequarter lengths clear of market leader Miss Manzor.
Cromwell said: “He’s a lovely straightforward horse. He races lazily which you’d love in a horse coming off the
Flat. He jumped really well there today.
Travel
“The cheekpieces just helped him travel a little bit better. He was behind the bridle a lot the last day. He went to the line really well and hopefully there is more to come.
“I wouldn’t say he has to have it this soft, I’d say on the Flat is was important because he probably just lacked a gear.”
The Punchestown Festival later is now likely to be on the agenda.
Cromwell added: “Yeah, I’d say definitely. Sure why wouldn’t you at this stage. The timing is nice as well with the early Easter.”
Implicit (9-2) could head to the Punchestown Festival after a narrow victory in a dramatic Farmhouse Foods Novice Handicap Hurdle.
Boher Road was clear in front coming to the third-last flight, but he ducked out at the obstacle, smashing through the wing and the inside rail. That left Implicit and Ossie’s Lodge to battle it out to the line, with the Paul Townend-ridden winner prevailing by just a nose.
David Casey, assistant to winning trainer Willie Mullins, said: “The pilot was very good again, as he usually is. It looked like they went very hard, Paul dropped her in got her relaxed and came with one run.
“Obviously he just got there and I thought it was a brilliant ride. I don’t know what way it would have gone if the horse didn’t run out, but she’s improving.
“I’d imagine she’ll go to Punchestown and you’ll probably see her through the summer as well, she should go on better ground.”
Whatcouldhavebeen (14-1) gave Boher Road’s trainer Jarlath Fahey some compensation as she proved too strong for her rivals in the Fairyhouse Steel Handicap Hurdle.
She finished second as a 66-1 shot in the Grade One Honeysuckle Mares Novice Hurdle at this fixture last year but had struggled to make her mark in six subsequent runs both over hurdles and on the Flat.
However, she roared back to form with a nineand-a-half-length victory in the hands of Aidan Kelly.
Fahey said: “It’s great as we haven’t had a great run over the winter, a lot of our horses were under a cloud and just weren’t performing.”