Spillane's Tower put on a resolute showing in the Dooley Insurance Group Champion Novice Chase at Punchestown to give trainer Jimmy Mangan back-to-back Grade One wins.
This JP McManus-owned gelding won the WillowWarm Gold Cup at Fairyhouse on Easter Sunday. Mangan, best known for having trained the 2003 Grand National hero Monty's Pass, was celebrating his first major victory in sixteen years. The only other Grade One winner of the same race was Conna Castle in 2008.
For his most recent major race assignment, Spillane's Tower, stepping up to three miles for the first time, was a 5-2 joint favourite and prevailed after a titanic tussle with market rival Monty's Star.
Before the big two settled down to battle it out in the straight, Three Card Brag led the field for the majority of the race.
Monty's Star, who found only the much-heralded Fact To File too strong in the Brown Advisory Novices’ Chase at the Cheltenham Festival, dug deep to stay in the race, but Mangan’s charge proved three-quarters of a length too strong, even though Spillane’s Tower had the better of the two.
In response, Paddy Power lowered Spillane's Tower's odds from 33-1 to 16-1 for the Cheltenham Gold Cup the following year. At this early stage, McManus has multiple contenders for the blue riband, including the 4-1 shot Fact To File, the 10-1 chance Inothewayurthinkin, and the 20-1 hope Corbetts Cross.
Mangan praised the successful owner by saying: “JP, what a man for racing. Without the ammunition, you can’t fire the gun. There’s nothing like this, it’s a wonderful game. For the McManus’ to breed the horse and everything is the icing on the cake. I’m delighted to be delivering the goods for them. He looked the real deal (when I got him) and I said ‘if there’s an engine inside that body, we’re away’. Thankfully, there is. What an engine he’s got, he’s got class to burn. I was coming near to the end of the road but this really puts me back on the motorway again! All the big days are special, but Punchestown is special.”
McManus added: “Jimmy and his team have done a great job with him. It’s wonderful to be here today and sharing it with them and their family. They are great for racing and you can see when they win a race how enthusiastic the crowd are.”