Gordon Elliott was again the leading trainer on another huge weekend for jump racing at the Fairyhouse Winter Festival. He had three winners on opening day on Saturday and landed a Jack Kennedy-ridden Grade 1 double on Sunday afternoon. Teahupoo, in the Robcour colours, won the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Hatton’s Grace Hurdle for the second year running. Twelve months previously, Honeysuckle lost her unbeaten record in the race and this time it was Willie Mullins’ highly touted Impaire Et Passe, the 4/5 favourite, which suffered a first defeat when losing out to the 85/40 winner by a length. Teahupoo might not run again before the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in March. Elliott and Kennedy had earlier taken the Grade 1 Bar One Racing Royal Bond Novice Hurdle with the Niall Earls-owned Farren Glory. The 11/2 shot led after the final hurdle to beat his own stable companion King Of Redfield, a 12/1 chance ridden by Jordan Gainford, by a length and a half with the Henry de Bromhead-trained 5/2 favourite An Tobar a length and a quarter away in third place.
Kennedy had played his part in an Elliott treble at the track on Saturday. The trainer shared his success with three different jockeys and the first of them into the winners’ enclosure was amateur rider Charlotte Butler, a daughter of Newmarket trainer John Butler, who partnered her first winner in Ireland on 9/1 chance So Des Flos in the two-mile five-furlong ladies handicap chase. Kennedy notched up his first winner of the meeting as the Bective Stud-owned Firefox impressed in beating Ballyburn in the two-mile maiden hurdle. The even money chance had a little in hand as he got the better of Willie Mullins’ 10/11 favourite by two and a half lengths. Five lengths was the winning margin as Jalon D’Oudairies completed the Elliott treble in the concluding bumper under Harry Swan.
While his championship rival Paul Townend landed a treble at Thurles on Thursday, Jack Kennedy got his name on the scoresheet as he partnered the Francis Mangan-owned Reddys Island to win the two and three quarter-mile handicap chase. Kennedy made it 70 winners for the season for the second time in his career as the Gordon Elliott-trained 6/4 favourite scored by two and three-parts of a length from Toofareastiswest.
In the jockeys’ championship, Kennedy ended the week leading Paul Townend by 73 winners to 50 winners.
