Nearside Raashan and Davy Russell© Photo Healy Racing
"I told him not to be in front too long but he had my heart in my mouth. It was unbelievable (the ride) and it was a great round of jumping from the horse as well," said trainer Colin Kidd after his stable star Rashaan (7/1 into 6/1) landed the Grade 3 Open Gate Brewery Novice Chase at Galway.
Davy Russell was aboard the successful chestnut for the first time, with regular rider Sean Flanagan committed to riding Le Martalin for Noel Meade.
Despite edging to his right in the straight, Russell conjured enough out of the diminutive six-year-old to defeat Ornua by half a length.
"Davy just got on so well with him and he's a horse that never knows when to give in," elaborated Kidd.
"That's twelve wins now and that's his first over fences.
"To have a horse like him in my yard is something you couldn't dream of and only for him I don't know where I'd be. We have him anyway and that's the main thing.
"It's very special - this is the third year in a row he's run here - but it's the first time all of the owners have actually been here.
"He's in at Cork on Monday over hurdles but we'll probably give that a skip now.
"Twelve months is a long time but the Plate next year is a possibility."
For his part Russell commented: "He's tough and to be fair to Colin he told me once I was close enough in the dip that he would stay up the hill and he did rightly. He's as tough as teak.
"I'd watched him plenty and you kind of get to know these kind of horses.
"He's a little bit bigger than he actually looks. I thought he was going to be a lot smaller but he rides a big enough horse down to a fence. He's got loads of spring in his jump.
"I wanted to jump out a little bit closer than you'd normally drop in because I had seen in the past that he had been a little bit slow over a couple of fences and if he had been slow over the first two I didn't want him to be tail end Charlie.
"I was always confident that I was going to get there and he had to really dig in to win.
"I'd say he was a little bit unlucky in his beginners that he was just a bit slow on the fast ground and it caught him out jumping.
"The bit of juice today and the long run-in up the hill helped."
(GC & EM)
