Zero Ten emerges from the chaos to land at Thurles

Zero Ten landed the feature race at Thurles, the Pierce Molony Memorial Novice Chase, after an eventful race.

Trained by Emmet Mullins and ridden by his cousin David, Zero Ten had travelled supremely well throughout in the Grade Three.

Sizing Pottsie, who was bidding for the hat-trick, had taken the field along at a decent gallop and was still in front turning into the straight, but Zero Ten appeared to be going better.

Running to the second last, it looked a matter of when Zero Ten would take up the running, but Sizing Pottsie got in too close in any case and came down, bringing down Dallas Des Pictons.

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Paul Townend had been biding his time on Cut The Mustard, though, and was the last to challenge, but then she came down at the last when two lengths in arrears.

That left Zero Ten (3-1) to come home in splendid isolation, 14 lengths clear of Dunvegan.

“It was brilliant. We were a bit unlucky the last day when he tipped up with a novicey fall and the tables have turned today as we had a bit of luck,” said Emmet Mullins.

“It’s great, he jumped around and put it back together again. Fingers crossed, now we can keep it going and he could have a nice finish off to the back of the season as a novice.

“He jumped straight and, to be fair, the last day it was probably his best round of jumping up to the fall.

“He learned from the fall and especially today when he went to the last, he had a good head of steam down to it and he was able to sit up and pop.

“He’s learning and so are we.

“It’s a big monkey off David’s back to come back here and do that in a big race today, a Grade Three race especially at Thurles with the Molonys.

“It’s a great race to win with the Mullins’ being so close to the Moloneys over the years. It’s a proud moment to win that race.”

Earlier class came to the fore in the BetVictor Hurdle as Jetz registered his first win of the season.

Jessica Harrington’s eight-year-old has mixed it with some of the best hurdlers and chasers in Ireland in recent seasons.

Not beaten far behind La Bague Au Roi in Grade One company over fences last season, he returned to hurdles last time out and was a fair second to Charli Parcs.

Harrington kept Jetz over the smaller obstacles and he always looked to be travelling better than market leader Mary Frances, and when Robbie Power asked him to go about his business, he pulled six lengths clear to reward punters at 3-1.

Power said: “He did that well. He was entitled to do that on his hurdles form and on some of his chase form as well.

“He seems to be getting his confidence back after a couple of runs over hurdles. He was quite keen today for the first mile or so, but he saw out the trip really well.

“His jumping improved as the race went on, but he’s always that way, even over fences he’s the same and the further the race goes, the better he jumps.

“Those couple of runs over hurdles will have done his confidence good and hopefully we can get a chance to go back over fences.

“The good gallop suited me as I was keen enough. He’s a horse with a very high cruising speed but he also stays well.”

Meanwhile Lorna Fowler appears to have a smart mare on her hands in the shape of Politesse, who ran out a ready winner of the Adare Manor Opportunity Maiden Hurdle.

Following a small delay to racing due to an administrative error regarding the published weights, the contest finally got underway and Politesse, who was a bumper winner last time out, was always in the right position under Conor Orr.

She pulled away to beat odds-on favourite Fakiera by two and three-quarter lengths at 9-4.

Fowler, a former racing television presenter, only trains a small string at her County Meath base and was thrilled to get another winner on the board.

“I’m absolutely delighted. She came out of her bumper no problem and, to be honest, it didn’t take very much out of her,” said Fowler.

“She’s done a lot of schooling, I didn’t know if inexperience would tell today, but I think what she’s shown today is that she is very talented.”