PUT THE KETTLE ON came to the boil at the perfect moment in a dramatic Champion Chase as she sunk hot-favourite Chacun Pour Soi.
After jumping the last, Henry De Bromhead’s gutsy mare cut down the Willie Mullins hotshot and hung on from the fast-finishing Nube Negra.
Henry De Bromhead’s stellar week continued at full steam as his mare followed up Honeysuckle’s Champion Hurdle heroics from the previous afternoon.
Chacun Pour Soi was always well-placed to strike, but the famous Cheltenham hill proved his undoing as Mullins’ agonising wait for his maiden Champion Chase goes on. He might be human after all.
The drama started before the race as defending champion Politologue was pulled out just minutes before the off.
Trainer Paul Nicholls took no chances with his star bleeding from the nose pre-race.
With front-running Politologue out, it meant Rouge Vif was gifted a lead for much of the race but he quickly went backwards with a poor jump three out. All queued up, the big guns were forced to play their hands.
Aidan Coleman on Put The Kettle On and Paul Townend on Chacun Pour Soi both didn’t blink.
A slick jump from Chacun Pour Soi two from home took him into the lead, but Put The Kettle On knew the game was far from up.
At the last they were neck-and-neck, but Put The Kettle On found more when it mattered, while Chacun Pour Soi crumbled.
A breathless Coleman said: “She gave some fantastic jumps – three out, she was all wrong but she just threw herself at it and made ground up.
“It’s just testament to her ability. She had two horses either side of her, and she just wasn’t getting passed.
I beat off Chacun Pour Soi, and then Harry Skelton, on Nube Negra came – and she went again.
“If I could bottle what she has I wouldn’t have to ride again – I’d sell it, and be a rich man.
“I don’t want to take any plaudits for this – this mare is just something else,” he said.
“Whether she’s the best or not doesn’t matter – when you’ve got heart as much as she has, I don’t have to do a lot.
Gutsy Put The Kettle On held off the fast-finishing Nube Negra
When you ride something that loves it and wants to win as much as this, it’s just a pleasure.
“It brings you back to your roots and why you wanted to get into the game – and that’s the love of the animal.”
Well said, Mr Coleman.
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