Bob Olinger claimed Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle glory to complete a Thursday double for Henry De Bromhead and Rachael Blackmore at the Cheltenham Festival.
De Bromhead and Blackmore won the opening Mares' Novices' Hurdle earlier in the afternoon courtesy of Air Of Authority in the colours of Robcour, and it was the same owners who dominated the outcome of the three-mile Grade 1 as 8/1 Bob Olinger got the better of 7/4 favourite and 2024 hero Teahupoo under Jack Kennedy.
Teahupoo locked horns with one of his main market rivals The Wallpark on the long run to the last flight of hurdles but Blackmore was still holding onto the strong-travelling winner, who took it up as they left the ground for the final time and he was kept up to his work to score by a length and three-quarters.
The Wallpark (7/1) plugged on to be third, eight lengths behind his Gordon Elliott stablemate Teaupoo, while 28/1 chance Rocky's Diamond was fourth ahead of Buddy One (50/1) in fifth.
The disappointment of the race was well-backed 11/2 chance Lucky Place, who finished seventh, while Home By The Lee unseated rider on the first circuit and Mystical Power (14/1) was pulled-up by Paul Townend on the run down the hill before the race really began to unfold.
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It was a third top-class Cheltenham Festival victory for the 10-year-old Bob Olinger, who won the Grade 1 Ballymore Novices' Hurdle (now Turners) in 2021 before benefitting from Galopin Des Champs' final-fence departure in the 2022 Grade 1 Turners Novices' Chase (no defunct).
De Bromhead said: “That was unbelievable. It was a super ride from Rachael and there has been a lot of amazing work from all the team at home.
"To get him back and have him like that is incredible. I’m delighted for everyone, and obviously Robcour as the Acheson family are great supporters of ours.
“Davy Roche, my assistant, would take a bullet for him as he adores him. He will be ecstatic. He said he worked really well the other day and he was delighted with him coming over. He is just a class horse. I suppose you have to look at his record as he is unbeaten here.
“I remember I was at a preview a few weeks ago, and I wouldn’t look at the betting, but I was like ‘Oh my God he is 66/1' and I just couldn’t believe it.
“If he was 20/1 then fair enough, but Home By The Lee, who had beaten him, was just much shorter. It is brilliant and I’m delighted.
“The last few years we have always had Honeysuckle to get off the mark on the Tuesday so it was feeling a little bit lonely. They have all been running well and I’m delighted.
“He is such a dude and he likes the attention and he deserves every bit he gets. He comes alive here and he obviously just loves it here. Even last year he was so good in the race on New Year’s Day. He won the Ballymore then we had a couple of funny old years with him, but he is back now.
“You always hope they can win another big one like this, but I never foresee anything. You live the dream and maintain them as best you possibly can.
“It is a big team effort. I can’t say enough about Davy Roche, who adores him. Robbie Power had him through the summer and he got him going, and then there is all our team at home the chiropractors, physios, vets you name it, everyone is involved in him.
“I always say it so hard to get a good horse so when you get one you want to try and maintain them for as long as you can and I really feel we try to do that.
“I was happy yesterday as they were all running well and these guys had similar chances to those yesterday, but we got the rub of the green today. Rachael is just so good. She is such a professional and works so hard. When she came back from her injury our horses were in a bad vein of form, but she just does what she does. She is class.”
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