Cheltenham Festival:What started off as an experiment has proved a masterstroke as Big Buck's, ridden by Ruby Walsh, became the first horse to win three consecutive renewals of the Ladbrokes World Hurdle on day three of the Cheltenham Festival.
Big Buck’s was bought as a chaser but his mishap in the 2009 Hennessy Gold Cup triggered an astonishing sequence over hurdles and his 11-race unbeaten streak cements his position as one of the finest stayers in history.
The showdown with Grands Crus (7/2) was one of the most talked-about issues of this year’s festival and the match-up materialised approaching the final flight, but the 10/11 favourite evaded the latest pretender to his crown in his own inimitable style.
Big Buck’s, who is still only eight, has a habit of showing just as much of his seemingly bottomless ability as he needs to win and this trait has endeared him to racegoers as he enjoyed a reception usually reserved for Champion Hurdle and Gold Cup stars.
Jockey Walsh had the added pressure of dropping his whip just before the last, but his mount absorbed everything Tom Scudamore and Grands Crus threw at him and was in command by a length and three-quarters as he passed the post.
While Walsh, trainer Paul Nicholls and owner Andy Stewart deserved their own share of the credit, this was an occasion where it was all about the horse as he joined the iron-hard Inglis Drever as a three-time winner (in 2005, 2007 and 2008).
“He is, especially when he runs in races like at Newbury, as close in horseracing as it is to buying money if you back him,” said Walsh.
“I know today was a different ball game at Cheltenham with difficult horses like Grands Crus and Mourad (third) but he is as close to unbeatable as a jumps horse can be.
“He’s like (American legend) Cigar on the Flat, just one of those great horses. Over hurdles he’s just prolific — he’s so much better than the others.
“Cheltenham are a great crowd as they are racegoers as well as punters. He’s deserving of a reception like that.”
The pace had been lethargic for the first half of the three miles but Walsh sat close to it while Scudamore had managed to suppress the often headstrong Grands Crus (7-2) at the rear of the field.
Only for an instant in the straight did Big Buck’s look in trouble but as Grands Crus drew alongside on the run-in, he almost gave the impression of daring the youngster to defy him, before beating him down with another decisive burst.
“He has his quirks - when he’s in front he idles,” explained Walsh. “They didn’t go that quick in front but it didn’t bother me. I knew it would be tactical as Tom, David Casey (Mourad) and Paul Townend (Fivefourthree), who were on the other favourites, are not stupid and I knew they would stay behind me.
“Once we got racing and I knew it wasn’t going to be a sprint I was happy. I had loads of horse left. This horse has matured so much mentally you can stretch him in front and he has dug deep.
“Going to the last I dropped my stick and I got lucky. St Patrick must be looking down on me! He’s just different, he has so much class as you’re riding a Champion Hurdle-Gold Cup horse in a stayers’ hurdle.”
Walsh added: “I suppose in a sporting sense you’d imagine Usain Bolt is unbeatable, although I think he got beat a few months ago. It’s a bit like that. To win every day is extremely hard but he’s so good that he can.”
Nicholls said: “I was really nervous today, as it’s not as if everything was in his favour. We knew they were unlikely to go a good pace and the ground was a bit quick but he’s a real champion.
“He’s a bit of a big kid but he’s a real racehorse. The crowd cheered him from when he pulled up to when he got to the winner’s enclosure. They appreciate him and he’s just great for racing.”
Looking forward, Nicholls ruled out a return to chasing.
“He’s won three now and I’d say he’ll never see a fence again,” he considered. “He doesn’t need to, and after he comes back next year it would probably not
be fair on him. He’ll go to Aintree now, and then we’ll follow the same route as this year.”
It was a disappointment for Grands Crus’ connections after his scintillating victory at the course earlier in the year although he was two and three-quarter lengths in front of Mourad.
“He has run the race of his life,” said trainer David Pipe. “Big Buck’s is the best staying hurdler there’s been for years and we gave him a race, so we can’t be disappointed with that. We’ll wait and see what we do now.”
Scudamore added: “I think I hit the front after the last for a stride but then Big Buck’s just powered away from me.
“The whole race has gone well but, at the end of the day, we weren’t quite good enough. It was a great race and I think everybody should be proud of the race we put on.
“Unfortunately there can only be one winner and it wasn’t us. We’ll try chasing next year.”
3.20 World Hurdle
1 Big Buck's (R Walsh) 10-11 Fa
2 Grands Crus (T Scudamore) 7-2
3 Mourad (P Townend) 8-1
13 ran
Also: 50-1 Cross Kennon 4th
Non Runner: 5