Ascot’s appeal obviously extends to some of its four-legged regulars as well, and it has mainly succeeded in bucking the trend of declining attendance at Britain’s top tracks. In two subsequent starts at Cheltenham and Aintree in the spring, Crambo, the Grade One Long Walk Hurdle winner from the previous year, did not run to nearly the same level. However, on Saturday, when he returned here, Fergal O’Brien’s gelding found his winning ways again, grittingly fending off Hiddenvalley Lake’s late challenge.
O’Brien, whose horses have been having trouble finding their best form lately, was momentarily moved to tears in the winner’s enclosure as Crambo’s victory was confirmed. Crambo and Johnny Burke had a head to spare at the line, which was a little improvement over last year’s short-head success. Regarding last month’s Long Distance Hurdle, O’Brien stated,
“The horses haven’t been quite right, but the winning of this race was not running at Newbury.” “I knew he enjoyed the track here and that we could improve him.” This was the finest place to go if we wanted to view the ancient Crambo.
Without the owners, I couldn’t have done it, so I’m really appreciative of Chris [Giles] for allowing me to wait and return. He has demonstrated what we were hoping to see today. Despite consistently placing in the top 10 of the British trainers’ chart for multiple seasons,
O’Brien, who trains a few miles from Cheltenham, has not yet saddled a winner at the track’s March festival meeting. After getting back to his best, Crambo was lowered to about 16-1 for the Stayers’ Hurdle. However, since the Long Walk is Ascot’s only Grade One event on timber, it is now unclear if he should be expected to replicate the form at the major spring festivals.
O’Brien stated, “Johnny will play a significant role in where we go next.” “He is the one who is riding him and is aware of his emotions from Cheltenham last year.
“Sincerely, I believe that the season started off well until things took a turn for the worse. He returned here and demonstrated his abilities, although I was a little disappointed in myself for running him at Aintree [in April].
Henry de Bromhead and Darragh O’Keeffe, his trainer and jockey, did at least leave Ascot with a respectable prize following Jungle Boogie’s frontrunning success in the card’s graduation chase, but Hiddenvalley Lake’s narrow loss guaranteed that the Long Walk would remain the only non-novice Grade One race on the British calendar that has never been won by a horse trained in Ireland.
A young chaser on the rise, not a 10-year-old who participated in the Cheltenham Gold Cup the previous season, is the typical runner in a competition of this kind. However, Jungle Boogie’s career has been marred by frequent injury absences; this was only his fifth start over fences and seventh overall.
The winning team will now focus on the King George VI Chase at Kempton on Thursday. Due to a little setback for Royale Pagaille, the Grade One Betfair Chase winner in November, the stable will only race L’Homme Presse, the beaten favorite from two seasons ago.
Williams stated, “I don’t think we’re going to take Royale Pagaille, L’Homme Presse runs.” “In January, he will head straight to the Peter Marsh [at Haydock], which will be much more up his street.”
