Saint Roi and Aidan Kelly © Photo Healy Racing
One time leading champion hurdle fancy Saint Roi made his class count when leading throughout to win the Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase at Galway.
Runaway winner of the 2020 County Hurdle at Cheltenham, the J.P. McManus owned gelding was promoted to market leader for the Champion Hurdle after making a winning reappearance at Tipperary 205 days later.
While the son of Coastal Path never quite reached those lofty expectations which had been forecast, he has remained a high-class graded performer over subsequent years.
Just touched off my subsequent Galway Plate winner Pinkerton when conceding 17lb to that rival at Punchestown, he failed to stay the extended trip of that former race on Wednesday.
Back down to his optimal trip here, the Aidan Kelly partnered gelding made all the running before finding plenty on the run-in to hold off both The Dasher Conway and Dreal Deal
Winning jockey Aidan Kelly said: “I’d say he wasn’t suited by the big field in the Plate, he got a fright at the first and never travelled from there on.
“Willie and Frank (Berry, racing manager to owner JP McManus) today just said have him as handy as you can and he jumped and travelled great.
“He was taking a grip coming to his fences, but in the straight I’d say he was just getting a bit lonely. I’m probably having more of a blow than he is!”
He added: “This is my first winner for Willie, but I’ve only had a couple of rides for him.”
Willie Mullins: “A very brave performance. Aidan asked him a few big questions and he seemed to love it. He jumped out of his skin for Aidan.
“When they came up around him at the bend I thought that might be it but he stuck out his head the whole way up to the line. I’d say his jumping won it for him and he was the class horse putting them under pressure.
“He missed the first the other day (in the Plate) and that was game over.”
Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
