One Track Mind keeps Punchestown winning post in sight

Racing’s ups and downs were crammed into 24 Punchestown hours for English trainer Warren Greatrex, who landed just the second Grade 1 of his career when One Track Mind beat off the home team in the Ladbrokes Champion Stayers Hurdle.

Just a day previously, Greatrex’s The Nipper started joint-favourite for a valuable mares bumper and was leading the field at halfway when she cocked her jaw and crashed out through a running rail at halfway.

But it was a very different story in the third day’s €200,000 highlight as Co Cork born jockey Gavin Sheehan powered One Track Mind clear of the outsider Jennies Jewel, after Shaneshill fell at the last. The evens favourite, Alpha Des Obeaux, could finish only third.

If One Track Mind caught many by surprise, the Greatrex-Sheehan team did boast tip-top form in the staying hurdle department, having landed last year’s World Hurdle at Cheltenham with Cole Harden.

Tougher proposition

He has found this season a tougher proposition, with Thistlecrack taking over his crown, but Greatrex indicated fences will be on his new star’s radar next season and One Track Mind is already a 14-1 shot for the RSA Chase at Cheltenham.

“He’s a brilliant jumper, and a real stayer,” said the trainer, who deliberately kept his powder dry with the winner, not starting him since the end of February.

Sheehan has jumped into the top-rank of cross-channel based jockeys in recent years and reckons One Track Mind could take him to the peak of big-race success.

“I always said he could be our Gold Cup-type horse. He has got everything going for him,” he said.

Douvan was the highlight of a Willie Mullins third day of the festival double, although Invitation Only showed an admirable attitude in the closing stages of his bumper win over Blast Of Koeman.

Enda Bolger had won the last of his dozen previous La Touche Cups in 2010, but bridged that gap in style with a 1-2, led home over the banks by Quantitativeeasing.

The Limerick trainer’s hopes looked to have been compromised when the favourite Josies Orders coughed a few times on arriving at the track and had to be taken out.

Nina Carberry switched to Cantlow, but it was Mark Walsh on Quantitativeeasing who was always holding his stable companions in the closing stages.

He ran out a three length winner, going one better than 2015 when he was runner up to Uncle Junior.

“It was electric to watch him. He did that here, too, in December when he got a bit of light and the good ground helped him too,” Bolger said.

Uncle Junior is almost twice Josies Orders’ age and the former double La Touche winner headed into his retirement on the back of an honourable fourth.

Bryan Cooper’s faint hopes of overhauling Ruby Walsh for the jockeys’ championship look to have been extinguished, but he brought his tally for the season to 93, 10 behind his rival, with success on Bright New Dawn.

“[That was] a brilliant ride because he’s a very frustrating horse: he’s either very good or very bad, but Bryan was very good on him,” said Gordon Elliott after Bright New Dawn’s length defeat of the favourite Rock The World in the handicap chase.

Dream run

Elliott just missed out with Jury Duty in the handicap hurdle but Missy Tata turned the mares novice hurdle into a rout with

Jack Kennedy

getting a dream run up the rail before the straight and then surging clear.

"She likes soft ground and she might be one to bring to France, " said Elliott, whose s favourite Jury Duty was short-headed by the JP McManus-owned Cup Final in a handicap hurdle. Cup Final was McManus's fifth winner of the week so far. Gavin Cromwell is aiming for another Grade 1 success with the McManus-owned mare Jer's Girl today, and her work-companion Elusive Ivy gave the trainer a boost with victory in the opening handicap hurdle.