RACING:GOLDEN SILVER got his reward for perseverance at Punchestown yesterday when he finally got the better of the two-mile champion Big Zeb in a thrilling finish to the Grade Two feature.
The build-up to the Boylesports Tied Cottage Chase had mostly centred on the clash of the Cheltenham winners Big Zeb and Sizing Europe with Golden Silver seemingly destined for the role of doughty but unavailing trial tackle.
Such an argument was not especially hard to defend since four previous clashes between Big Zeb and Golden Silver had all seen the 4 to 6 favourite emerge in front of his old rival.
But it was a different story yesterday as Golden Silver pounced late at Big Zeb to win by half a length with Sizing Europe seven lengths back in third.
The sponsor’s reaction was to cut the winner to 10 to 1 for the Queen Mother Champion Chase and slightly lengthen Big Zeb’s odds on successfully defending his title.
However, while Willie Mullins’s post-race reaction was understandably exultant at a success he admitted seemed unlikely in the early stages of the race, the Big Zeb camp contained the sort of frustration which indicated they’d have liked the race to run over again.
Ireland’s reigning horse-of-the-year threw in a pair of spectacular leaps at the fourth last and third last that carried him to the lead ahead of Sizing Europe’s pacemaker Changing Course.
It appeared to be a long way home from there for Big Zeb and a slow jump at the last suddenly allowed Golden Silver to take a decisive advantage.
“He looked to get there too soon. He almost jumped too well and it cost him the race. He was there to be shot at,” his trainer Colm Murphy said.
“But there was always going to be some day when he got beat and I’m glad it was today. We will learn plenty from that.”
Mullins appears to be still learning about Golden Silver too as the quirky French-bred surprised his trainer with another Grade Two victory this season.
A couple of sluggish jumps in the early stages looked to confirm the champion trainer’s worst fears that a busy winter campaign might have been catching up with his nine-year-old.
Instead Golden Silver started to thrive off the strong pace and picked his way through under jockey Paul Townend to upset the odds.
“He didn’t look to be particularly enjoying the first few fences. Coming here today I was asking myself what’s the point of running him as he was probably going to be flat after his last few runs. But maybe that suits him. Maybe he’d rather race than be trained!” Mullins grinned.
“I had been thinking of the Ryanair but we will leave him in the two mile now as well. A lot can happen between now and then,” he added.
Townend will leave Cheltenham decisions to Mullins and was content to savour the moment yesterday.
“We’ve got close to him (Big Zeb) before but never beaten him. They went a good gallop and it was just a case of letting him find his way.
“I thought we’d let them get a bit far in front of us but he put his head down, winged the last and galloped all the way to the line. He deserves to go to Cheltenham,” the jockey said.
Henry De Bromhead has a difficult decision to make between now and the Cheltenham festival about which festival target will suit Sizing Europe best as last season’s Arkle winner looked to lack a little pace at a vital stage of yesterday’s race.
Sizing Europe’s entries range from the two-mile crown to the Gold Cup itself, with the Ryanair as in-between distance option.
“We’re digesting that,” De Bromhead said yesterday. “We will go away and have a think about what we will do.”
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