Real Steal wins well for Paul Townend© Photo Healy Racing
Real Steel justified favouritism in good style when landing the opening Book Your Easter Festival Tickets Today Beginners Chase at Fairyhouse.
The Willie Mullins-trained gelding, a useful sort over hurdles last term, held every chance when falling at the last on his chasing debut at the Leopardstown Christmas meeting but made amends here in taking fashion.
The six-year-old was sent off the 6/4 market leader in this extended 2m5f event, and soon settled the issue after heading the front-running Beyond The Law at the penultimate fence.
Paul Townend ’s mount stayed on strongly on the run-in to beat the aforementioned Beyond The Law, who made mistakes at the final two fences, by ten lengths with Burgas just a neck further away in third.
The winner’s stablemate Allblak Des Places was well-supported on track from 10/1 into 11/2 but was never in contention following a serious blunder at the first and after another few sticky jumps, was pulled up with a circuit still to run.
Townend said, "He was running a cracker at Christmas and tipped up at the last.
He's won two races going right handed, whether that makes a difference to him or not I don't know. He was relaxed today, the edge had gone off him, and he jumped well on the whole.
“He'd schooled well at home since so we didn't have a worry about that going out and if anything (the fall) just opened his eyes for him.
“The ground is slowing down out there.”
(GC & AM)
