Barry Geraghty produced one of the special Cheltenham Festival rides as Champ came from the clouds to deny Minella Indo and Allaho in the RSA Insurance Novices’ Chase.
Unbelievable!
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 11, 2020
Champ by name, Champ by nature.
What a remarkable finish to the RSA! @BarryJGeraghty @sevenbarrows #CheltenhamFestival pic.twitter.com/RDuzn0cGJ1
In what looked like a re-run of last year’s Albert Bartlett, Allaho and Minella Indo were prominent throughout, if both just doing a little more more than their riders perhaps wanted at respective stages of the race.
Coming down the hill towards the third-last there were nine runners still in with a chance, with the two Colin Tizzard inmates, Copperhead and Slate House, the first to give way. Davy Russell had charted a wide path on Battleoverdoyen, but cut out quickly before the second-last, as the front two went clear.
Minella Indo had just got the upper hand when making a mistake at the last, giving Allaho another chance – but all the while Geraghty was asking Nicky Henderson’s Champ – who is named after Sir Anthony McCoy – for more.
Almost 10 lengths down at the last, the 4-1 chance began to eat up the ground and what had looked impossible started to seem inevitable half a furlong from home, as he powered between the two Irish raiders, winning by a length from Minella Indo.
