Essex lands the feature much to Geraghty's relief

RACING Leopardstown report: Essex provided Barry Geraghty with still more big race success in yesterday's Pierse Hurdle but for the champion jockey's sake it was probably just as well the 5 to 1 favourite came out on top.

Watching on the big screen at Leopardstown was the winner's trainer Michael O'Brien who greeted Geraghty's move in taking the lead fully three flights from home with something approaching horror.

The decisive turn of foot Essex displayed from the second last looked to have put the race beyond doubt but a slow jump at the last got O'Brien sweating again with a vengeance.

"He nearly threw it away at the last, lost all momentum and if he wasn't a good horse, he wouldn't have picked up again," said the Naas trainer.

It was Mansony, bidding to give Arthur Moore a seventh success in the race, who got closest to Essex and half-way up he managed to get within half a length. But by the line Essex had doubled that margin and it was a massive 12 lengths back to the third Al Eile.

"For a second I thought we were beaten but he had a lot left in the tank," said a relieved Geraghty who, like O'Brien, was winning the €130,000 feature for the first time.

It continued Geraghty's run of major successes which has included Kicking King's win in the King George and the Tingle Creek victory of Moscow Flyer.

But reputation is not something to sway Michael O'Brien when it comes to jockeys. Naturally inclined to call a spade a shovel, he was typically blunt in his post-race analysis.

"He was in front way too soon. I wanted him about fifth or sixth and then pick up going to the last," he said.

"I know you can't knock a jockey who's actually won but I would prefer if he was ridden the other way. If he had held him up he would have won by six or eight lengths. He didn't need to be in front for that long on that ground."

O'Brien was adding to his impressive record of big handicap successes - "I've been trying to win this for a long time" - and continued the current trend of keeping horses away from actual jumping before their big-race targets.

Essex landed the Cesarewitch on the flat in October but the last of his only previous three hurdle starts was at Punchestown in April.

"If he'd won that day he would have been 8lb higher and I decided not to run him over hurdles again until now. So for a horse having only his fourth start, he has done well," he added.

So well that Cashmans immediately installed him as their new 8 to 1 favourite for the Tote Gold Trophy at Newbury next month. It was that race rather than talk of the Champion Hurdle that interested the winning team yesterday.

"Horses in their five-year-old year have it very tough," O'Brien explained. "We could see what we have in the Tote Gold Trophy and stick him in the Champion just in case. But he would be up against horses rated 160-165 which is very hard."

Despite that warning, however, there were Champion Hurdle quotes of as low as 20 to 1 floating around afterwards.

Geraghty also won the Grade Two Paddy Fitzpatrick Novice Chase on Newmill who was rebuilding a reputation tarnished by a poor Christmas effort when he ran much too free.

"I gave Garrett (Cotter) totally wrong instructions so I take the blame for that," said the West Cork trainer Thomas O'Leary who said afterwards that Scarthy Lad would go for the Arkle at Cheltenham leaving the SunAlliance as a possible target for Newmill.

A mistake by the runner-up Strong Project at the second last looked important since he ultimately only failed by two lengths to overhaul Newmill and O'Leary said: "I don't know if that's good enough for a SunAlliance but we'll be sensible about it. He'll go for the Dr Moriarty on Hennessy day next."

Arthur Moore just failed in the big race but Marcus Du Berlais gave a smooth display under Barry Cash to land the €100,000 Leopardstown Chase by four lengths from another grey Hersov. "He benefited from not having a run over Christmas and he was a fresh horse," said Moore. "It's nice compensation for him having been second in the Irish National and he will go back to Fairyhouse again."

Tom Taaffe's hot-streak continued in the bumper when Finger On the Pulse made much of the running to win the race his illustrious stable companion Kicking King started off in three years ago. "He has a bright future jumping but I don't see us doing much more with him this season," said Taaffe.

"He could go for a bumper at Limerick at the end of March."

BettingFigures

A total of €200,824 was bet with the bookmakers in yesterday's big race but the overall turnover was down from last year's €1,238,233 to €1,028,532. The Tote turnover was up to €459,397 from last year's correpsonding figure of €421,725. The attendance of 8,169 was also a decrease from the 2004 figure of 8,517.