If at first you don't succeed...
Vintage Clouds (28/1) won the Ultima Handicap Chase on his fifth attempt in the Cheltenham contest.
Placed twice in the race before but down the field 12 months ago on the back of a tough race at Haydock, he was revitalised by a lighter campaign and the fitting of first-time cheekpieces, and jumped superbly right on the pace under Grand National-winning jockey Ryan Mania.
The dangers inevitably loomed large as Alnadam, Happygolucky and Aye Right all looked to challenge as fellow pace-setter Pym backed out of proceedings at the top of the hill, but Sue Smith's experienced grey kept pulling out more and a fantastic leap at the last fence sealed the deal.
The veteran, who was tipped in Matt Brocklebank's Value Bet column on Monday, skipped up the final hill to pull five and a half lengths clear of Kim Bailey's 100/30 favourite Happygolucky.
Third went to Aye Right (11/2) for Harriet Graham and Richard Johnson, while Cepage, One For The Team, Discordantly and Alnadam rounded off the first seven home in the first handicap event of the 2020 Festival.
Mania said: “It’s unbelievable. It’s a shame my first Festival winner comes under these circumstances, but it truly doesn’t matter. It’s a very memorable day.
“I rode him in this race last year and he made a noise coming down the hill. I said then he needed a wind op and he had a couple more runs this season and it became clear that he needed a wind op.
“We sent him away for that and the application of cheek pieces has sharpened up his jumping. He used to spend quite a lot of time in the air, whereas today he was really slick over his fences and with the wind operation helping as well, he’s got his day today.
“Realistically we thought he had a good each-way chance – that’s all you can really hope for coming to Cheltenham. We were confident he would run his race as he always does – he’s a real determined warrior.”
Mania quit the saddle for a spell before returning in 2019.
He added: “It hasn’t really sunk in yet. Never in my wildest dreams did I think I’d come and ride a Cheltenham winner, especially so soon after coming out of retirement.
“I couldn’t be happier.”
Double delight for Kennedy
Jack Kennedy, who won the Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle on Black Tears, completed a day one double courtesy of GALVIN in the Sam Vestey National Hunt Challenge Cup Novices' Chase.
Formerly with Gordon Elliott, the 7/2 chance was having his first start for Ian Ferguson and picked up well after the last to fend off the renewed challenge of Next Destination (3/1) by a length-and-a-half.
Victory took Kennedy to the top of the jockeys' leaderboard and he told Racing TV: "There wasn't (much pace) and I was trying to focus on getting my lad settled and he made a couple of mistakes as a result of it. I had him settled but I hadn't much contact with his mouth and he just made two mistakes.
"Then I grabbed a hold of him without lighting him up and he jumped much better then. He's not a slow horse either so I think the fact we didn't go that fast probably played into his hands as well. I was happy enough to sit where I was down the hill and I got a good jump at the third last to move through behind the leaders and I got a lovely run down the inner turning to the second last and he picked up really well when I asked.
"It's great. I'm delighted. They've (the team at Cullentra House Stables) done all the hard work. It's brilliant for Ian Ferguson, he pre-trains them and things; delighted for Ronnie Bartlett as well, lovely to ride a winner for him."
Fred Winter joy for Jeff Kidder
Noel Meade's JEFF KIDDER landed a huge 80/1 shock in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle for jockey Sean Flanagan.
Sent off a huge price on the back of finishing last behind Zanahiyr last time out, the four-year-old flew home up the hill to deny Saint Sam, the 9/2 favourite.
Elham Valley was third at 66/1 with Houx Gris fourth at 11/2.
Coltor was fifth from Sage Advice, the latter fluffing the last when about to hit the front under Sam Twiston-Davies.
Flanagan, who was riding his first Festival winner, said: “He’s come here in a good vein of form. His form at home hadn’t been the most solid and his last run at Leopardstown was his first run after a bit of a lay-off and we kind of used it for experience more than anything else.
“When we got levelled out into the straight I knew he was going to stay well and he’s jumped well on the whole.
“I’m delighted for Noel and all the team at home. If it wasn’t for Noel, I wouldn’t be here – you need the horses and the staff and everything.
“To be fair to Noel said after a bit of work last week that this horse had a right chance and when he says something like that you stand up and take note. To be fair, he was right.
“I genuinely said when I passed the line, ‘I can’t believe it’. I was talking to a few of the lads who have ridden here and they said it’s a feeling you can’t explain.
“Even though there’s no crowds here, it was brilliant – I can only imagine what it would have been like if there was (a crowd).”
Meade said: “I thought he had a chance. He worked the other day and I was very happy with what I saw. I said to Sean you’ve got two good rides at Cheltenham for me this week and I think you will be thereabouts on this one.
“He is a stayer on the Flat and that’s what you need around Cheltenham. That is what he ended up doing, just outstaying them. I think the better ground helped as well.
“He won at Fairyhouse then we put in him a Grade Two at Leopardstown over Christmas which was a very good race.
“He had been running on the Flat and he was a winner on the Flat so he was used to the hustle and bustle.
“Colin Keane has been riding him on the Flat and he said he will win you a Cesarewitch one day and hopefully he is right.
“He will run on the Flat again, but we will look at another race over hurdles and we might go to Punchestown with him.”
He added: “It was nice to get another winner at Cheltenham as it has not been the happiest hunting ground for me. It gets tougher and tougher to get winners at Cheltenham, but it is the place we all want to have winners at and we think about it from one end of the year to the next.”
