Broadway Boy benefits from bold ride by Bellamy

Nigel Twiston-Davies delighted with five-year-old novice chaser following wide-margin Cheltenham win.

Tom Bellamy cut a delighted figure as he steered Broadway Boy to an emphatic success at Cheltenham on Saturday.

Second to Flooring Porter over course and distance last month, he was sent off the 9-4 joint favourite for the Listed From The Horse’s Mouth Podcast Novices’ Chase and was given a bold ride by his pilot, which paid dividend as he scorched 20 lengths clear of stablemate Weveallbeencaught climbing the hill.

The five-year-old was introduced into the Brown Advisory betting at 20-1 with Coral and trainer Nigel Twiston-Davies could now test the waters in Graded company, having thrilled connections with his brilliant display.

Jockey Tom Bellamy celebrates with Willie Twiston-Davies
Jockey Tom Bellamy celebrates with Willie Twiston-Davies (David Davies for the Jockey Club/PA)

He said: “I thought he was very impressive and he beat our other horse a long way – and he is pretty good, so happy days.

“Funnily enough, he didn’t school very well when he started but he soon warmed up to it.

“It was a good run (behind Flooring Porter) and he’s improved for it. I think we will stay over three at the minute, he seems to have plenty of speed but let’s see.

“There’s no point rushing into anything at the moment and we will see how he comes out of it, but there is always the three-mile race at Kempton (Kauto Star Novices’ Chase on Boxing Day) and that is a possibility, we will see.”

Paul Gilligan could have a Stayers’ Hurdle candidate on his hands having watched his son Jack boot home Buddy One in the Paddy Power Games Handicap Hurdle.

Third to Iroko in the Martin Pipe at the Festival in March, the improving six-year-old thrived at Galway last month and obliged favourite backers on his first try at three miles.

“To watch your son come up the hill on a horse you train, it’s heaven,” said Gilligan.

“This is a special place, a field of dreams, it can be heaven or it can be hell. It can be anything and when you go home after horses run bad, it’s a nightmare, but the dream has come true there now.

“He was really unlucky in the Martin Pipe, but he was straight as a gun-barrel there when he jumped the last. This is magic and it’s just a pity my wife isn’t here today, she’s at home keeping the yard going but this is heaven.

“Today is just so special, my son riding him and another leading him up. There’s a lot of us here and there will be a lot of people happy in Galway today.”

The Buddy One team celebrate their Cheltenham win
The Buddy One team celebrate their Cheltenham win (Nigel French/PA)

Handicaps are now off the table for the 9-4 winner, who could take in the Hatton’s Grace at Fairyhouse next, but who ultimately will be back at Prestbury Park in March for a crack at the Festival’s day-three feature.

“I didn’t think he would be beaten today – his Galway run was really good and after winning this race off top-weight, he is out of handicaps now. Possibly, depending on how he comes out of the race, he could go to the Hatton’s Grace. We will have to meet Willie and Gordon there, but why not.

“I thought after Galway he might go to the Pertemps but there is no point going Pertemps. It’s quite possible he will come back here for the Stayers’ Hurdle.”

Another with Graded ambitions is Springwell Bay (85-40 favourite), who justified Jonjo O’Neill’s long-held belief he was a smart operator with a taking victory in the Paddy Power Intermediate Handicap Hurdle.

The six-year-old may now head to the Relkeel Hurdle back at Prestbury Park on New Year’s Day, with O’Neill dreaming he could replicate the exploits of owner Gay Smith’s Blackjack Ketchum at some stage in the future.

Springwell Bay clears the last on the way to victory at Cheltenham
Springwell Bay clears the last on the way to victory at Cheltenham (Nigel French/PA)

He said: “I hope he will be (a Pattern horse) and he needed to do that today to be that type of horse. You would have to be thinking of it (Relkeel Hurdle) and those are the races you have to be looking at.

“I liked what I saw, but I didn’t come here with lots of confidence. We’ve been very lucky (for the owner) and let’s hope he is another Blackjack Ketchum.

“If he’s as good as him, he’ll do. We’ll let the horse do the talking. We’re happy today, that was a nice starting point and we have a nice horse to go to war with.”

There was a win for Gavin Cromwell’s Hascoeur Clermont (12-1) in the Wienerberger Amateur Jockeys’ Handicap Chase, while in the same race there was a 20-day ban handed out to Billy Coonan for his ride aboard Tony Martin’s Read To Return.

Although backed into favouritism, the young rider was adjudged to have failed to take all reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to obtain the best possible placing, having been 15 lengths down at the last before staying on into fifth.

There was further joy for Ireland when Willie Mullins’ Baby Kate (7-2) took the concluding Karndean Designflooring Mares’ Open National Hunt Flat Race.

The four-year-old, who is a daughter of Augusta Kate, was bred by former footballer Kevin Doyle and with Listed honours secured, could go in search of further black type in the new year.

“We were lucky to lease her off Kevin Doyle and the lads (owners, Gorm Agus Ban Syndicate) are a group of local lads and they are living the dream,” said Patrick Mullins.

“She didn’t win impressively at Ballinrobe but I thought the penny only dropped late with her. We wanted black type and it was either come here or Navan and we thought the ground might be slightly nicer here.

“She’s one of the smallest horses in the yard, she’s tiny, but she’s strong and she has ability.

“For Kevin, who owns her and leased her to us, it’s fantastic to get black type for him with that pedigree and we’ll look at all the black type bumpers in the spring now. We’ll probably go to the Dublin Racing Festival first, then see where we go after that.”

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