Jack Kennedy and Gordon Elliott added to their Cheltenham Festival success when winning the near three-mile conditions’ hurdle with Shannon Royale at Thurles on Saturday. In the colours of their Stayers’ Hurdle hero Teahupoo, the 9/4 chance got the better of the Henry de Bromhead-trained 8/13 favourite Summerville Boy by a neck.
Trainer Ian Donoghue gave Kennedy his second winner of the weekend as St Denis’s Well took the two-mile three-furlong rated novice chase at Down Royal on Sunday in fine style. A winner over hurdles at Navan last November, the Declans Bar Syndicate-owned six-year-old is becoming something of a Down Royal specialist as he won his third race over fences there this year when beating the John Ryan-trained Donacheady Gale by an easy four and three-parts of a length.
Ten Irish-based jockeys and six Irish-based trainers made it to the winners’ enclosure at the 2024 Cheltenham Festival. In all, there were 18 Irish-trained winners with Willie Mullins and Paul Townend leading the way with nine and six successes respectively. The pair captured the headlines with the likes of Galopin Des Champs, State Man and Ballyburn and Mullins, who took his over Cheltenham Festival tally to 103 winners, was crowed champion trainer for the 11th winner with Townend, now with 34 festival winners to his name, the top jockey for the fourth time. JP McManus was the top owner with five winners. The Danny Gilligan-ridden Better Days Ahead, the Sam Ewing-ridden Stellar Story and Jack Kennedy’s mount Teahupoo were all winners for Gordon Elliott, while Henry de Bromhead struck with two Rachael Blackmore-ridden winners, Captain Guinness and Slade Steel. Gavin Cromwell was also a double winner with Inothewayurthinkin, ridden by Derek O'Connor, and the Keith Donoghue-ridden Limerick Lace while Joseph O'Brien saddled Lark In The Morning, ridden by JJ Slevin, to win with Emmet Mullins celebrating the success of Corbetts Cross, another ridden by top amateur O'Connor. Mark Walsh rode two winners for Willie Mullins, Fact To File and the four-year-old Majborough while another of the Willie Mullins winners, Jasmin De Vaux, successful in the Champion Bumper, was ridden by the trainer’s son Patrick. Fittingly, it proved to be Willie Mullins’ 100th Cheltenham Festival winner.
