English/Ire
El Cairos warms up for Supreme bid with Thurles triumph
“The gears he showed were impressive”
Gordon Elliott's highly talented Supreme Novices' Hurdle contender El Cairos warmed up for his Cheltenham Festival engagement with a smooth success in the ThurlesRaces.ie Maiden Hurdle on Thursday despite a minor scare at the last.
Fifth in last year's Champion Bumper when owned and ridden by David Maxwell, El Carios looked set to make a winning hurdling and stable debut when scorching clear after the last at Leopardstown last month.
However, he stumbled and ending up unseating rider Jack Kennedy on the flat, leaving Gordon Elliot to opt to return to maiden company before a likely tilt at the Cheltenham Festival opener in March.
The son of No Risk At All travelled strongly for much of the contest and swept past the Paul Townend-ridden Roc Dino going down to the last. A clattering mistake at the final hurdle gave backers of the short-price favourite a huge scare but it didn't halt his momentum, and he barely came off the bridle up the run-in, coasting home to score by three lengths.
"Completely my fault," said Jack Kennedy when asked about the final flight mistake on Racing TV. "I needed to commit to one or the other and I committed to nothing. I'm disappointed in myself for that but thankfully he found a leg today.
"He jumped brilliantly the whole way, and he's picked up well down the straight. We didn't go quick today, we sprinted off the bend, but the gears he showed was impressive.
"He has enough gears that you can hold onto him later and his best jumping is in behind horses. I don't think experience will be an issue."
Paddy Power pushed out El Cairos to 11/2 (from 9/2) for the Supreme Novices' Hurdle, with Nicky Henderson's Old Park Star topping the market at 9/4.
Earlier on the card, Willie Mullins made sure he was on the scoresheet when French recruit Charme De Faust struck with complete ease in the Thurles Maiden Hurdle.
The daughter of Goliath Du Berlais finished an eye-catching runner-up at Auteuil when under the care of Gabriel Leenders and made no mistake on her first outing for new connections.
Always well-poised throughout by Paul Townend, the now Rich Ricci-owned four-year-old jumped to the front at the second last before powering clear to score by a widening nine lengths from Dawn Coming.
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