Game on for hunters as Stand Up wins early 'Fight'

Cheltenham winner It Came To Pass returned to action when finishing fourth in the INHSC Celebrating 150 Years Hunters Chase at Fairyhouse today behind the JP McManus owned Stand Up And Fight (16/1), in a dramatic conclusion to the early-season skirmish.

Eugene O'Sullivan 's It Came To Pass beat today's rival and Willie Mullins' Billaway to win the Foxhunters Chase in March and while both horses returned following a lockdown-extended break, each was in contention entering the home straight.

It Came To Pass folded first and finished fourth whereas Billaway travelled strongly and challenged Stand Up And Fight approaching the last.

However Billaway and jockey Patrick Mullins had crossed-wires at that final fence and while Mullins sat quiet, Billaway 'went long' with the resulting blunder effectively handing victory to Stand And Fight, who had the momentum to win by a length and a half.

Stand And Fight's jockey Aine O'Connor, an employee at R.A.C.E in Kildare, later received praise from winning trainer Enda Bolger, who said “that was a pleasant surprise and obviously Aine has found the key to him as his last couple of runs were very disappointing.

“We had notions about him before and brought him to Cheltenham last year when he finished sixth but there has been a question mark about him ever since. We did all kinds of tests but nothing showed up.

“We put blinkers on him today and they have done the trick. Obviously we were lucky with the mistake of Billaway but they are there to be jumped.

“We were thinking of going for a cross country race at Punchestown with him but it looks like he’ll have to stay hunter chasing now.”

It Came To Pass' trainer Eugene O’Sullivan was also pleased following the race and reported “I’m delighted with him as he’d have hated the ground.

“He badly needed the run and to be honest that’s as good as I expected him to finish today. You’d always be hoping you could win but in reality that was as good as he could finish.

“Maxine said that everything went according to plan but that he hated the ground.

“We might give him a run in a point-to-point just to be easy on him somewhere along the line on a nice track with decent ground. If I don’t have to go I’m not worried but if he does run it will be on nice ground.

“Cheltenham, Fairyhouse and Punchestown is the plan and maybe finish out in Killarney.”

Quotes from Alan Magee