Progressive Kemboy lands valuable handicap

Kemboy recorded his third win since sent over fences this year when defying top-weight in the €100,000 EMS Copiers Novice Handicap Chase at Punchestown.

The six-year-old gelding tracked the pace-setting A Rated throughout this 2m5f event, and Paul Townend’s mount swept past after the penultimate fence.

The Willie Mullins-trained 11/4 favourite drew clear on the run-in to beat the front-runner by five lengths, with Bel Ami De Sivola a further eight lengths away in third. A Sizing Network completed the places in fourth.

Townend said, "He had a lot of weight but I thought he was open to some improvement and had a good run at Cheltenham. He travelled through the race brilliantly.

"He has his own way of jumping and has figured it out this far so we'll leave him at it. He jumped the first two fences well and that left me in a good position and he was good and smart the whole way around. You'd imagine he could step back into graded company again now."

Steve Massey, spokesman for successful owners the Supreme Horse Racing Club, said “We thought he was going to be a two-miler but it looks like he’s going to be a staying chaser. He was very unlucky in the Irish National as we really fancied him that day but he fell at the first. He’s a classy horse but he’s not over big.

“I think he can go on and improve and he was really good today off top-weight. There is only 14 involved in this horse but it looks like there are about 700 here today!”

(TW & AM)