Daddy Long Legs and Paul Townend© Photo Healy Racing
Daddy Long Legs completed a near 120/1 five-timer at Thurles for champion trainer Willie Mullins when taking the Killinan Maiden Hurdle in ultra impressive fashion.
The 15-runner two-mile event looked a decent maiden for the venue but the Almanzor gelding, bought out of Nicolas Clement’s yard last year for €210,000 after a narrow defeat on his only start in a 1m4f Saint-Cloud maiden, dispatched his rivals with consummate ease.
Paul Townend, who partnered a treble on the day to put him on the 50 winner mark for the season, sent the 11/8 favourite past the front-running Irish Panther after two out and he soon took control.
He stretched further clear on the run-in under a motionless Townend to beat Cleatus Poolaw by 13 lengths with Irish Panther a length and a quarter further back in third.
Mullins was successful earlier on the card with Il Etait Temps Classic Getaway Lombron and Fun Fun Fun
Townend said, "He was smart and quickened well for a horse who ran over 1m4f in France and I thought he justified a big price tag.
"What his future is I don't know but he couldn't have done any more than turn up and win the way he did. I hadn't sat on him a whole lot at home but he had been working well and from the first day I schooled him he was a natural to jump.
"He is a fine horse, won like we hoped he would and he would justify being in the Grade 1 novice hurdle at Leopardstown over Christmas. After that we'll learn more."
Quotes by Tom Weekes
