Henry de Bromhead had an enjoyable birthday at Wexford courtesy of impressive winners Heart Wood and Inthepocket.
Firstly it was Heart Wood who came out on top as a small but select field of three contested the Michael Hickey Memorial Chase over two miles and seven furlongs.
Emmet Mullins’ National Hunt Chase winner Corbetts Cross was one of the trio, with Paul Gilligan’s smart hurdler Buddy One continuing his graduation to chasing after striking first time out over fences.
Heart Wood has been jumping the larger obstacles since joining Henry de Bromhead from France and is a Grade Three winner already, with his last outing being a third-placed effort in the Mildmay at Aintree.
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He was the 8/13 favourite under Darragh O’Keeffe at Listed level at Wexford and when receiving 15lb from Corbetts Cross, he skipped to a seven-length victory to kick his season off on a good note.
De Bromhead said: “I’m delighted, he is a lovely horse and he has done brilliantly. I’m delighted to get it for (owners) Robcour. Darragh was good on him, he jumped well and he picked up well.
“You’d have to hope he has progressed from last season, he is still a very young horse, so hopefully he will keep progressing. We are considering the Drinmore if he is still eligible for it, we just need to confirm that, we think he might be.”
Corbetts team 'reasonably happy'
JP McManus’ Corbetts Cross and Mark Walsh came home second when 10 lengths ahead of Buddy One, to whom he was also conceding 15lb.
Frank Berry, racing manager to McManus, said: “He jumped well and finished off the race very well. We are reasonably happy with him and he’ll progress from it. We’ll see how he comes out of the race and decide something for him then.
“It was a big ask trying to give the winner so much weight on his first run back. Mark was very happy with the way he jumped and how he quickened up over the last two.”
Impressive Inthepocket earns Arkle quotes
Inthepocket then continued a successful afternoon for the stable when landing the Wexford Racecourse Members Supporters Club Beginners Chase.
The seven-year-old was a high class hurdler with a Grade One title to his name from the Top Novices’ Hurdle at Aintree, and made a pleasing chasing debut when second at Navan in November last year.
He did not run again that season, however, and was seen for the first time after nearly a year when the 1/2 favourite under Walsh.
The absence evidently proved no hindrance as he ran a very impressive race to score by 15 lengths from Gordon Elliott’s Grade One winner Farren Glory.
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“I’m delighted with that. He has always been a really nice horse,” De Bromhead said. “He jumped great and Mark was brilliant on him as ever. He is a really exciting horse for us. He just had a minor issue last season and we decided to put him away.
“We definitely feel he is probably better going left-handed than right. The Grade One at Leopardstown over Christmas is gone now but we will find something for him. We are just delighted with today.”
Betfair and Paddy Power cut the winner to 8/1 from 14s for the Arkle at Cheltenham.
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