Katarino delivers resounding victory

Those who tried to second guess the formbook were slapped in the face yesterday. Deservedly so because the winning evidence was staring us in the face all the time.

Balla Sola had eight lengths to make up on Katarino in the IAWS Champion Hurdle from Cheltenham but was backed to do so and more.

The teak tough Katarino seemed to take that as a personal insult and delivered a resounding length and a half victory for Nicky Henderson and Mick Fitzgerald.

Even more remarkably, the Stayers champion Anzum was allowed start a 7 to 1 third favourite as the horse he beat at Cheltenham, Le Coudray, was piled into all the way down to 1 to 2 favourite.

Unimpressed, Anzum and Richard Johnson proceeded to make all the running in the Ballymore Champion Hurdle and hold off Khayrawani with Le Coudray pulled up distressed before the last flight.

"I don't know what happened. He'll have to be scoped but he just got unconscious with me," reported Le Coudray's rider Charlie Swan.

Many in the betting ring will know how their fancy felt as the British visitors brought their festival total to six with three winners yesterday.

The home team could take consolation from the remarkable winning return to action of the giant Sydney Twothousand in the Tripleprint Novice Chase but without question the most popular winner was Risk Of Thunder who won his fifth La Touche Cup over the banks and gave trainer-rider Enda Bolger a perfect swansong as a jockey.

He gave a typically cool performance on the Sean Connery owned horse to run out a 20-length winner from Linden's Lotto. The majority of the field ruined their chance just after halfway when failing to turn and follow the correct course. The absence of a red disc, which had been in position in the morning, was blamed for that debacle but nobody was willing to rain on Bolger's party.

Hoisted onto the shoulders of jockeys David Casey and Norman Williamson, Bolger (36) ruled out a comeback, saying: "How could I top this! This horse is exceptional around here and has been great to me."

Similar sentiments were expressed by Katarino's trainer Nicky Henderson after the Triumph winner battled off a pack of challengers in the straight to ultimately win impressively.

"He hated that ground but he just doesn't know about giving up," Henderson enthused. "He is just so tough and brave and although he was like a cat on bricks racing downhill, his jumping was still great. We would only think about the Champion Hurdle next year if it was very soft but he is a bit special."

Noel Meade described the 17.2 hands Sydney Twothousand as "potentially very serious" after Norman Williamson's mount jumped his opposition into the ground.

"He broke a bone in his pelvis at Leopardstown over Christmas and he is lucky to be here. I actually can't believe he is back on a track so soon but he hasn't done much fast work and has to be even better than that. He could be anything," Meade said.

David Nicholson knows exactly what he has in Anzum who will again be campaigned over hurdles next season. "There is no bloody fluke about that," declared The Duke referring to Anzum's 40 to 1 SP at Cheltenham and he was full of praise for Johnson's decisive ride.

The rider's verdict was: "All credit to Anzum who couldn't have tried harder for me."

Richard Dunwoody rode the third British winner Native Fling who got the better of Total Success in a tight finish for the Ward Novice Chase and the outsider of Arthur Moore's trio for the Castlemartin Pat Taaffe Chase, Emerald Gale, proved best under a fine ride from claimer Kieran Kelly.

A colossal £1,577,251 was bet with the bookmakers yesterday, reportedly a new national record, including £273,920 alone on Katarino's race. A further £528,314 was bet with the Tote, slightly down on last year when there were nine races.