Sire Du Berlais pulled off a huge shock at 33-1 to win the Stayers’ Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival on Thursday under Mark Walsh, who arrived late to deny the 40-1 shot Dashel Drasher.
The victory was a first in the race for trainer Gordon Elliott. Walsh, who has struggled with injuries, said: “He just loves it here and was travelling great the whole way.” Dashel Drasher was demoted to third place after a stewards’ enquiry, with pre-race favourite Teahupoo second and Flooring Porter fourth.
There was Cheltenham redemption on Thursday for Envoi Allen who made a triumphant return to the Festival winner’s enclosure by winning the Ryanair Chase.
The Cheveley Park Stud-owned nine-year-old is a winner of both the Champion Bumper (2019) and Ballymore Novices’ Hurdle (2020), but suffered an agonising reversal when sent off favourite for the Prestbury Park hat-trick in 2021, unseating his rider early into the Turners Novices’ Chase.
The race was notable for a remarkable run by the favourite Shiskin, who did everything wrong – jumping left and making a bone-shattering mistake prior to the home turn – before racing on for a brave second.
Earlier, Stage Star jumped his rivals into submission in the Turners Novice Chase to end Paul Nicholls’ three-year drought at the Festival.
“It’s been a tough week so far, but it’s a tough place,” said Nicholls. “We were a little bit unlucky yesterday with a couple, but that was brilliant. Different track, slightly better ground, it was always going to suit us. I said to Harry today ‘be positive, bowl along in front and ride him like the best horse in the race’. He gave him a peach of a ride there.”
He added: “He travelled and jumped well and quickened up like he did the last day. I told Harry go out, go a nice gallop and be positive and dictate it from the front – he’s so good at doing that.
after newsletter promotion
“I think if we went back and rode that race yesterday [the Ballymore, with Hermes Allen] again we might have done things differently, but we’re not going to look back, we’re going to look forward.”