RACING:It was 24 hours late, but Schindlers Hunt's St Stephen's Day success in the feature race at Leopardstown yesterday was the perfect Christmas present for jockey Roger Loughran.
Even before Schindlers Hunt passed the post 10 lengths clear of the 50 to 1 outsider Hear The Echo in the €100,000 Durkan New Homes Novice Chase, all the lame gags that have tormented Loughran since Christmas 2005 were being trotted out - except this time without any edge.
It might be unfair that the jockey's infamous misjudgment on Central House on this day last Christmas, when Loughran mistook the winning post and celebrated "victory" too soon, is still remembered so vividly, but in terms of living with the memory of that horror show the man himself seems to be coping well indeed.
A memorable Galway Plate victory on Far From Trouble during the summer proved that Loughran's big-race touch remains intact, and he confirmed it in style again on Schindlers Hunt.
"That was super, he's a great horse to ride," enthused Loughran, who narrowly escaped being brought down when favourite Glenfinn Captain fell at the fourth-last. "My horse didn't even flinch. This is a great day for me."
However, the opportunity for possibly an even more satisfying success comes today when Central House and Loughran have another crack at the Paddy Power Dial-A-Bet Chase.
If Glenfinn Captain was an expensive failure in the big race, then at least there were a couple of favourites to ease the pain as punters bet over €2.1 million at the track. That included €1,564,249 with the bookmakers (up €148,622 on last year), as well as €550,845 with the Tote.
But the attendance of 18,011 was slightly down on last year's figure.
Champion trainer Noel Meade not only had a first- and last-race double at Leopardstown, but he also secured a memorable Grade One victory at Kempton with Jazz Messenger in the Christmas Hurdle.
Grand National-winning rider Niall "Slippers" Madden rode Jazz Messenger to victory, and Meade, who was at Leopardstown, confirmed afterwards the horse is now part of his ultra-strong team for the Champion Hurdle.
"I suppose the AIG and then the Champion is the obvious route for him," said Meade, who also has Iktitaf and Harchibald in his Cheltenham plans. "I was quietly confident that if he jumped well, he would win, or certainly be hard to beat. I think Slippers will stay on him. In fact I think he'll be married to Jazz Messenger now!"
Ruby Walsh was the man in charge of Kauto Star, who is now a 6 to 4 favourite for the Cheltenham Gold Cup after a thrilling success in the King George VI Chase.
Kauto Star will pick up a £1 million bonus if he wins the Gold Cup in March, and, despite two mistakes yesterday, Walsh is in no doubt about the quality of the Paul Nicholls-trained superstar. "He's a machine, I've never ridden a horse like him," said the Irish champion jockey. "He's incredible to ride and he'll be even better going left-handed."
Barry Geraghty was rewarded for his hungry Christmas Day in the main support race at Leopardstown yesterday. He made the 10.4 weight on Lounaos in the Durkan Juvenile Hurdle, and the mare made it worth the jockey's while with a smooth success that catapulted her to the forefront of the Triumph Hurdle betting.
However, the award for the most spectacular St Stephen's Day winning ride must go to Davy Condon, who managed to claim the opening hurdle at Limerick on board Clarnazar despite having to ride without stirrups from the third-last.
Somehow, Condon kept the Noel Meade horse going to beat Callherwhatulike, a performance described as "brilliant" by the trainer.
"The saddle slipped up the horse's neck, but the way he kept going I thought he must have lost the lead bag," Meade said. "Some fellas might have pulled up, but I don't think he was able to the horse was going so well!"
