Real Steel (light blue cap) © Photo Healy Racing
The Paddy Power Handicap Chase rarely fails to deliver a thrilling conclusion and this year was no different as outsider Real Steel came from just about last with a circuit to go to score by a short head.
Not really travelling or jumping early on, Conor McNamara's mount gradually warmed into it and got into contention on the run to the last. In front halfway up the run-in, he clung on for victory on the nod as Diol Ker charged home late on the stands' side. Market principals Panda Boy and Ain't That A Shame filled the frame as Willie Mullins' stranglehold on the card was broken by a former inmate of Closutton.
Sixth in the 2020 Gold Cup behind Al Boum Photo, Real Steel was making his third appearance for Eric McNamara having had a fruitless spell with Paul Nicholls after leaving Mullins' yard.
Delighted winning trainer McNamara said: "It was brilliant the way it worked out. A huge thanks to Tadhg Moynihan, I picked him out at the sales and rang him and asked if he would buy him.
“He said Eric if you want him and I said 'I don't want to go home without him'. So I bought him but he paid for him. He paid for himself today.
“To win one of these handicaps is great. He was well handicapped if we could rekindle him, he spent two years doing nothing in England, whatever went wrong there.
“We changed his routine and we were always very kind to him. We brought him a few different places to work and we never took him off the bridle.
“We trained him like he was a real good horse and he always worked against horses that he could beat just to try and mentally get him back to where he was.
“He was a real good horse. He was only beaten seven-and-a-quarter lengths in a Gold Cup.
“I met Tadhg in Listowel one year, he was a great friend of Sean Currans', and we've been great friends ever since.
“He always said he'd love to win the Kerry National so I bought this fella to try and win it. He'll be there next year but this will do!
“Conor gave him a great ride and did everything right so it's fantastic.”
Quotes from Gary Carson
