Advertisement

Appreciate It romps home to give Willie Mullins a winning Cheltenham start

Appreciate It has won the Supreme Novices Hurdle in some style at Cheltenham, to make it a winnin...
Neil Treacy
Neil Treacy

13.29 16 Mar 2021


Share this article


Appreciate It romps home to gi...

Appreciate It romps home to give Willie Mullins a winning Cheltenham start

Neil Treacy
Neil Treacy

13.29 16 Mar 2021


Share this article


Appreciate It has won the Supreme Novices Hurdle in some style at Cheltenham, to make it a winning start to the 2021 festival for Willie Mullins and Paul Townend.

The Dublin Racing Festival winner went off a 5/6 favourite, and lived up to that tag in some style bolting home to win by a staggering 24 lengths.

Paul Townend rode the seven-year-old comfortably from 40/1 shot For Pleasure who set the pace, before moving up into the lead three lengths out, and coasting to victory.

Advertisement

It was very nearly a Mullins one-two, with stablemate Blue Lord falling at the last in second place, however Daryl Jacob's ride looked highly unlikely to catch the winner in any event.

Having gone off an odds on favourite, Appreciate It's biggest challenges looked like coming in the form of the Henry de Bromhead trained Ballyadam under Jack Kennedy, and Metier for Sean Bowen and Harry Fry.

The latter never posed a challenge, while a poor jump three out saw Ballyadam rallying late on to come home in second place, as outsider For Pleasure held on to take third place.

It was also a winning start for Team OTB's Cheltenham Show tipsters, with John Duggan taking Appreciate It in one of his Tuesday selections, while it's also the first leg up for Thom Malone's opening day trifecta.

READ: John Duggan's Day 1 Cheltenham Tips

READ: Thom Malone's Tuesday Trifecta at Cheltenham

Catch the Cheltenham Festival Show every morning on OTB Sports from 10.30.


Share this article


Read more about

Appreciate It Ballyadam Blue Lord Chelltenham Festival Paul Townend Supreme Novices Hurdle Willie Mullins

Most Popular