Racing round-up: Mark Bradstock's Carruthersoutstayed his rivals to land a famous victory in the Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury.
The 10-1 shot proved a popular victor as he held Planet Of Sound by three and three-quarter lengths in gutsy style.
Fair Along stayed on from a long way back to be third with Paddy Power winner Great Endeavour, who crept into it under a magnificent waiting ride from Timmy Murphy, eventually just running out of petrol in fourth.
Earlier,
Big Buck’s
equalled a record set by Bula as he stretched his unbeaten run to 13 in landing the Sportingbet Long Distance Hurdle for the third successive year.
Sent off the 1-8 favourite, the Paul Nicholls-trained horse travelled smoothly for Ruby Walsh, who had been given the all-clear by the course doctor after sustaining a heavy fall at the track on Friday.
Pettifour and Duc De Regniere endeavoured to keep Big Buck’s honest but they paid for their efforts as Walsh’s mount really started to motor.
Sparky May looked like the most credible challenger at the top of the straight, despite taking a keen hold, and although she still appeared to be full of running, she had no answer to Big Buck’s at the business end.
Walsh merely gave the signal and Big Buck’s coasted home by five lengths from stablemate Five Dream, who plugged on admirably.
Walsh said: “He’s just an incredible horse, he’s never out of second gear. He’s a good, safe jumper touch wood, and he goes on every ground. He’s just perfect. He’s better than any pension at the moment isn’t he?”
At Newcastle,
Overturn
made all to claim a first Grade One victory in the Stanjames.com Fighting Fifth Hurdle.
Donald McCain’s charge won the Coral Hurdle at Ascot last week and turned out just seven days later to account for 5-4 favourite Binocular in some style in the hands of Jason Maguire.
Overturn (7-4) triumphed by four and a half lengths from Binocular with Celestial Halo third.
Maguire had made the trip to Newcastle by helicopter after partnering Peddlers Cross at Bangor earlier in the afternoon, and his dash up the country paid dividends.
He had Overturn sharply away as the tapes went up with Tony McCoy happy to sit in third aboard Binocular while Celestial Halo pushed in second.
The latter also likes to do things from the front, but it was apparent at the fourth flight that Overturn was motoring away at the head of affairs and Celestial Halo began to drop off the front from that point.
That left Nicky Henderson’s 2010 Champion Hurdle hero Binocular to challenge for glory and he was seemingly still travelling well at the third-last.
However, Overturn’s race-fitness appeared to tell coming to the last couple of flights as he found an extra gear to leave Binocular toiling after the last.
Overturn was completing a famous Newcastle double as he also won the Northumberland Plate on the Flat at Gosforth Park in 2010.
Connections of Binocular were not too disheartened after seeing their charge beaten as favourite in this race for the third successive year.
Owner JP McManus’s racing manager Frank Berry said: “He ran well. The other horse has had a run and was coming here fit.
“We were beaten by a better horse on the day but our lad jumped well and came there with every chance. We should come on a lot for the run and Kempton (Christmas Hurdle) is the plan.”
Overturn was cut to 20-1 from 33s for the Champion Hurdle in March by Victor Chandler, who eased Binocular to 14-1 from 12s.
McCoy said of Binocular: “He jumped well and travelled well, he was just a bit disappointing.
“He travelled and jumped, and I thought I had a squeak but getting close to the third-last, I thought was hanging on to not a lot really.
“I was wary of Jason’s horse and in the end he outbattled me and outstayed me. He’s become a little bit disappointing to be honest, but we’ll see what happens.