Connell & O'Sullivan head to Cheltenham on a high

Course specialist Espanito Bello (7/2) was an emphatic winner of the featured Bar One Racing Leinster National to send owner/trainer Barry Connell and jockey Michael O'Sullivan off to Cheltenham on the best possible note.

The pair have Grade 1 novice hurdle winners Marine Nationale and Good Land to look forward to in the opening races on the first and second days of the festival on Tuesday and Wednesday.

Espanito Bello, all of whose wins have come at Naas, travelled well behind the leaders throughout and, although many turned for home in contention, none was going as well as the grey son of Turgeon. Having grabbed the stands' rail before two out, O'Sullivan soon gave his mount the office and no recourse to the whip was needed as he powered clear from the back of the last. The margin of victory was seven and a half lengths with History Of Fashion doing best of the rest.

The winner, lightly raced in recent seasons, came into this on the back of a creditable fifth in the Thyestes Chase at Gowran.

Barry Connell said: "That’s what he was here two years ago when he beat Coko Beach the length of the straight and it’s taken us a little while to get back to that.

“He loves the course and that’s his fourth win here. He won a bumper, a hurdle, a beginners’ chase and now a hundred grand handicap.

“He’s in the Irish National but we would only run him if the ground came up soft. I ran him in it once before but he wasn’t right and the ground was too quick.

“He’s going to go up a bit for that and is entitled to step back into Graded company at some stage as well.

“That’s a fantastic pot to win today and I’m thrilled.

“He finished fifth in the Thyestes the last day which was a good run considering it was his first run in a chase for over a year. He got a lot of confidence from that and travelled way sweeter today. He was a winner everywhere.”

Quotes from Alan Magee