5.30 Cheltenham Result
1st Tully East 8/1
2nd Gold Present 14/1
3rd Two Taffs 7/1
4th Powersbomb
Race Report
Tully East won the closing Close Brothers Novices’ Handicap Chase on the opening day of the Cheltenham Festival.
Alan Fleming’s well-backed horse went off at 8/1 following sustained support and Denis O’Regan gave him an ice-cool patient ride in mid-division.
O’Regan brought him between jumping the last and his mount sprinted clear up the hill to beat Gold Present, Two Taffs and Powersbomb.
There was little between the second and third, but Tulley East won going away to win by a cosy length-and-a-quarter.
Reaction
Alan Fleming: "It's so thrilling - I couldn't tell you how thrilling this is. Denis was so cool on him. He is the man for the big day. What an awesome horse, awesome jockey and awesome owners - brilliant!
"It was like an obstacle course out there at times but Denis is very clever and very astute to what is going on around him and gave him a brilliant ride. I can't put into words what this means.
"We weren't that confident coming into the race as we have had an up-and-down season. It's been a very stop-start season but this makes up for it a bit.
"He has a lot of ability, and if this horse gets a clear run now he could be very good. I'm not sure how far he can go but he has won a handicap today and he has lots of pace and lots of talent and I was very impressed with the way he jumped today.
"He was super clever and I would like to run him in a graded race later this season."
Denis O'Regan: "I'm just so pleased that the horse won. He's a class horse and has been giving me that feel all year, and he has just run into a couple of good horses on the way. I was hopeful without being over-confident; we need so much luck here. He jumped, he travelled, and we had luck in the race with horses falling in front of us.
"I can't tell you how much I appreciate being back in this winner's enclosure, because it is so hard to get on these horses. I'll be forever grateful to Barry Connell and his family and to Alan Fleming for giving me the opportunity to ride this horse and other good horses. And the week is only starting, but whatever happens now we can look forward to the rest of it.
"I've never enjoyed a job as much as this one. I'm at that stage where I've got a lot of experience and I can handle things an awful lot better. We work well together as a team. It's great for Alan to have a Cheltenham winner - there's no better man to do the job when he's got the right ammunition, and hopefully we can build on this and maybe finish the season with a flurry."
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