Bobs Worth, red cap, tracks First Lieutenant in the Lexus© Photo Healy Racing
Bobs Worth consigned his disappointing run in the Betfair Chase at Haydock into the history books when devouring the ground after the last to win the Grade 1 Lexus Chase at Leopardstown. Rubi Ball and First Lieutenant jumped well in front while Bobs Worth raced in third and fourth throughout.
Coming round the home bend Barry Geraghty on the 11/4 joint favourite Bobs Worth switched him to theoutside of the front two . He jumped the last behind them but Geraghty asked for more and Bobs Worth showed great pace to surge ahead of First Lieutenant who had got the better of Rubi Ball. This was Rubi Ball's first run in an Irish steeplechase having won 16 races in France.
First Lieutenant (7/1) was beaten a length and a half by the winner and he was a length in front of Rubi Ball (8/1) in third. Sir Des Champs the other 11/4 joint favourite, came home fourth.
Trainer Nicky Henderson said: “I would have given anything to have taken him out two days ago with the ground and the weather, and I wasn’t that happy with him.
“The horse never stops surprising us. When I saw Barry angling out with him he obviously thought that he was going to get there. We all know he finishes his races except in Haydock. It’s only five or six weeks since he got thumped into the ground there.
"Barry was keen to come here and he thought we would get better ground here than anywhere in England.
"From Bobs Worth's run in the Betfair which flummoxed everybody and to come from winning the Gold Cup to being thumped in the Befair frightened the living daylights out of all of us. I wasn’t sure we really needed to be coming here but to be fair Barry always thought this was a good track for him. We were hoping for better ground.
"To get him back is a mega relief. We are back in the ballpark regarding the Gold Cup. I suspect we’ll do nothing next and go straight to the Gold Cup. He’s not the most robust horse in the world and there’s not a lot of him."
Barry Geraghty said: “He’s brilliant, he’s got great heart. Turning down the back straight I wasn’t happy and I was trying to fill him up. We all quickened well off the home bend but I thought coming to the last it would take a good one to beat him.
“He didn’t get his ground in the Gold Cup and he showed his pace today. He’s a better horse on good ground. There is the Argento, but he had a tough enough time there so he may go to Cheltenham next. He was good value for Nicky (Henderson) when he bought him!
“He had reasons for his defeat in Haydock. I couldn’t see that many reasons why he would get beaten today when I saw the ground dried out a bit this morning. The ground on the chase track was beautiful and that was the winning of the race for me.
"He has class and comes from a great flat pedigree so he has pace. He doesn’t capture the imagination like others do but he gets it done.”
Nicky Henderson had an across-the-card Grade 1 double today as Captain Cutter won the Grade 1 novice hurdle in Newbury.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
