Updated 16.30
AP MCCOY HELPED the bookies to fight back as he finally landed a winner on a day of big-priced shocks in Cheltenham.
The Ruby Walsh-Willie Mullins dream team got Thursday off to a flyer for favourite backers when Vautour (6/4f) streaked away to win the JLT Novices’ Chase.
It has been the only Irish winner of the day so far with 16/1 outsider Uzixandre landing the Ryanair Chase while Cole Harden led from pillar to post to win the feature World Hurdle.
The 14/1 shot beat the fancied Paul Nicholls pair of Saphir de Rheu and Zarkandar to give trainer Warren Greatrex and jockey Gavin Sheehan their first Festival winner.
A few minutes earlier, Tony McCoy was welcomed back to the winners’ enclosure for the 31st time at Cheltenham, staying on to beat Ma Filleule and Irish fancy Don Cossack.
“I’d love to say I’m relived but I actually got such a thrill riding him, I was thinking to myself I wouldn’t mind riding this horse in the Champion Chase next year,” the 19-time champion jockey said.
“We were in the bizarre position of cheering home AP as he won his first race of the week,” a spokesman for Ladbrokes said.
“It was the start of a bookies’ comeback that has seen us enjoy our best day of the week by far.”
For the first time this week, Britain lead Ireland in the race for the Prestbury Cup with 11 winners to the raiders’ nine at the time of writing.
The ninth came courtesy of Vautour when he handed Willie Mullins a sixth success — his best Festival tally yet — and landed the Grade 1 JLT Novices’ Chase.
Last year’s Supreme Novice was sent off a well-backed 6/4 favourite and he justified those odds, making all with a jumping masterclass to win by 15 lengths.
The Rich Ricci-owned superstar led home an Irish 1-2-3 in the first of the Grade 1 contests on day three. Apache Stronghold, trained by Noel Meade, was second while Mullins’ second string, Valseur Lido, ran on well into third in the hands of Bryan Cooper.
“The morning we started schooling Vautour, we said ‘He’s too good’,” Walsh beamed.
“We thought last year he was a very special horse. Willie, he had his eye on one target and he nailed it.”
Call The Cops gave Nicky Henderson his first winner of this year’s festival when winning the Pertemps Network Final at 9/1, while the Kim Bailey-trained Darna (33/1) won the Brown Advisory and Merriebelle Stable Plate and The Package (12/1) scored for David Pipe and Jamie Codd in the Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir.
RESULTS
1.30pm – JLT Novices’ Chase
1st – Vautour (6/4 fav)
2nd – Apache Stronghold (7/1)
3rd – Valseur Lido (9/2)
2.05pm – Pertemps Network Final
1st – Call The Cops (9/1)
2nd – Unique de Cotte (14/1)
3rd – The Tourard Man (20/1)
4th – Henryville (50/1)
5th – Aqalim (25/1)
2.40pm – Ryanair Chase
1st – Uxizandre (16/1)
2nd – Ma Filleule (5/1)
3rd – Don Cossack (5/2f)
3.20pm – World Hurdle
1st – Cole Harden (14/1)
2nd – Saphir de Rheu (5/1f)
3rd – Zarkandar (6/1)
4.00pm – Brown Advisory & Merriebelle Stable Plate
1st – Darna (33/1)
2nd – Monetaire (11/2f)
3rd – Rawnaq (25/1)
4th – Buywise (15/2)
4.40pm – Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir
1st – The Package (9/1)
2nd – Bless The Wings (28/1)
3rd – Buddy Bolero (20/1)
4th – Grand Vision (11/1)
