RACING: Barry Connell's boyhood dream came true as he rode The Posh Paddy to victory in the final race of Cheltenham's Open meeting yesterday.
The 44-year-old Dublin-based financier, who had never sat on a racehorse until after his 40th birthday, looked far from unaccomplished as he drove the 5 to 1 winner home in the Betfair Open Bumper.
The Tony Mullins-trained winner was always to the fore under Connell, who also owns the son of Be My Native, and they held off the challenge of Alpine Fox by half a length in a thrilling finish. Nobody who backed the winner could possibly have enjoyed the success more than Connell, who looked in a daze as he collected his two trophies. "I run a hedge fund in Dublin and a few years ago, when I had got a bit of money, I decided I wanted to own a racehorse," he said.
"When I was young I would go to the races with my father and I always thought being a jockey looked very glamorous. And although it took a long time to happen, I finally decided I wanted to give it a go four years ago. I still work every afternoon to pay for my fun in the mornings and I only ride my own horses, but I have got eight or nine now and I am really enjoying it.
"It has been a lifetime ambition to ride at Cheltenham, but to have a winner here is just unbelievable. I could see Richard Johnson (on Alpine Fox) coming at me, but my fellow could gallop all day. I rode him when he won at Roscommon three months ago and we decided to go for this race immediately afterwards. He has been trained to perfection."
Mullins, who was sending out his first ever winner at the track, will now be planning a hurdling campaign for the winner, who turns seven at the end of next month and will become ineligible for bumpers. Connell will be continuing his association with the winner, but only from the sidelines.
"Hopefully we'll try and find something he can come back for at the Festival, but I won't be trying my luck over hurdles," he admitted. I think if I can just keep going, riding in bumpers, for a few more years then that will do me nicely."
Connell's performance may have been special but the riding honours went to fellow Irishman Ruby Walsh who partnered the Paul Nicholls-trained pair Thisthatandtother and Rigmarole.
First to oblige was Thisthatandtother, a supremely-impressive winner of the Independent Newspaper Novices' Chase. But while bookmakers were cursing the victory of the strongly-fancied 8 to 13 favourite, they were celebrating when Walsh struck again 35 minutes later on unconsidered 33 to 1 chance Rigmarole in the Greatwood Hurdle.
Thisthatandtother was following in the hoofprints of stablemate Azertyuiop, who took the spoils in the same race for the same team 12 months ago. And the Arkle Challenge Trophy at the Cheltenham Festival, Azertyuiop's greatest success, will also be the target for this seven-year-old.
At least one group of punters were celebrating as Pat Hughes raider Blue Away landed something of a touch when holding off Mr Ed by a neck at 100 to 30.
