Going - Heavy. Overcast
Jackpot Pool - 1,649.24 Dividend - 376.90 Winning Units - 3.06. Placepot Pool - 30,300.95 Dividend - 14.20 Winning Units - 1485.12. Days Aggregate - 142,684.33 Last Year 160,505.35
Impaire Et Passe shows plenty on the track again
Tactical Move gives Mullins and Townend their double
Russell back in winning groove for Elliott
Birdie Blitz powers home under Kelly
Impervious ever so strong against the geldings
I'm delighted with that,. It was a tall order giving weight to those boys. It was probably a little tiny worry running her on heavy ground too, but she's answered a lot of questions. We can make more plans now. She's one of those, she wears her heart on her sleeve and she gives everything.
Doyle saddles one-three in beginners' chase
It's job done, I suppose. He was entitled to win that, it was the ideal race for him. We'll maybe look for a staying handicap now. I'm so thankful for these races, where would I be going with a soft ground horse in the middle of the winter without these races? I would have been lost, wasting my time out the back somewhere and then you are struggling in handicaps. There is a great gang involved (Fauda Partnership) and they really enjoyed that. Paul McGinley's brother Mick has a leg and his dad is involved as well. There is a staying novice handicap in Navan before Cheltenham if the ground was still heavy. He's not a quick horse. Hopefully he can be competitive again, but that's job done for the year. His jumping is very good and for a big horse he is very clever. He needed to win that today as that was his Gold Cup. Old Soul jumped absolutely beautifully. He's not a hurdler and he's not quick and the longer you stay over hurdles the more you sour these horses. Because he jumps a fence well, we've gone chasing straightaway. You'll see him again in one of these races in a month's time.
Royal Thief back in style from an enforced absence
Hassett's faith in Soloman Lane rewarded
Where do I start! We tried to buy him as a three-year-old at the Landrover Sale and the boys wouldn't sell outside the ring and then they sent him up to us instead. I've taken him out of more races than he's actually run in because we've always thought he was a nice horse. He's worked with The Conditional, Mary Frances and No Grey Area's, with 130 (rated) horses and always held his own. Talk about being unlucky, he got jarred one day, stood on a nail one day and had sore shins after his run behind Banbridge. This is the first time we've had a clear run since the last day he ran. In fairness, I have to say that it's my daughter Megan who rides him and she does some job on him. She's the unsung hero of Hassett Racing, she deserves all the credit. We had a bad Christmas with two fillies running badly and today was the first time I came racing and I wasn't looking forward to it. I was just worried there was something wrong.