Sport

Quazar strikes in fine style to overtake Back In Front

Racing: Quazar upset the odds on Back In Front at Punchestown yesterday and confirmed that when the overseas challengers struck…

Brian O'Connor at punchestown
Sat May 03 2003 - 01:00

Racing: Quazar upset the odds on Back In Front at Punchestown yesterday and confirmed that when the overseas challengers struck at the 2003 festival they did so in style.

Quazar was a fourth British success of the week, all in Grade 1 contests, and First Gold's Heineken Cup triumph on Wednesday was also Grade 1.

That Heineken Gold Cup briefly threatened to cast a pall of controversy over the one track in Ireland that doesn't need any more of the stuff.

However, the director of racing, Richie Galway, declared: "There seems to have been a positive feeling in general about the place. The betting has been up and from the point of view of the festival, it's good that the English horses have done well."

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Yesterday's crowd of 15,500 brought the total for the week to 67,900 and the overall figure bet during the four days was just over a12 million.

Yesterday's Tote of a733,659 brought the weekly total to a3,190,776. The bookie turnover overall was a8,851,486 after yesterday's total of a1,788,166.

Quazar won his second big Punchestown pot in a row when out-gunning Back In Front by a length in the Emo Oil Champion Hurdle.

Tony Dobbin produced the Jonjo O'Neill-trained former IAWS winner after the last to win out after a brief struggle.

"We took a chance and it didn't work out," said the favourite's trainer, Edward O'Grady. However, everything worked perfectly for Quazar who benefited from the stiff pace set by In The Forge.

"Pace had been a worry but this horse is so tough," said O'Neill. "I'm in no man's land now because we have schooled him over fences and the plan today was to find out where we would go next season. I think we'll start off again over hurdles."

Ruby Walsh emerged as the leading rider when notching up a third success of the week on Nobody Told Me in the Menolly Champion Novice Hurdle.

It was also a third success for the back to form Willie Mullins who said: "When my horses got sick in October she was the sickest of the lot. But she obviously made the best recovery!"

Mullins went on to make it four in the bumper as Kim Fontaine found too much in the closing stages for the favourite, Selby Road.