‘Unfamiliar with Huntingdon? Successful Brides Hill team secures feature win’ – Racing Post

The 10-11 chance was cut into 8-1 (from 25-1) by the sponsors of the Mrs Paddy Power Mares’ Chase for Cheltenham in March after providing Gavin Cromwell with back-to-back wins in the feature at the Cambridgeshire track. Settled two furlongs off runaway leader Sacre Coeur in the early exchanges of the 2m4f contest, jockey Donoghue’s confidence was rewarded when he swept to the front turning for home and completed a hat-trick on the mare, easily accounting for La Renommee to win by six lengths.

Murphy, one of six members in the successful Brides Hill syndicate, expressed his excitement and praised Gavin Cromwell for choosing the race months in advance. The journey from Dublin to Stansted unfolded smoothly despite initial confusion about the location of Huntingdon, with Murphy commenting, “Where the hell is Huntingdon?”

The decision on whether Murphy and Brides Hill will attend Cheltenham in March is yet to be determined. Jeremys Flame, the winner of this event for Cromwell and Donoghue in 2023, finished sixth at the festival. Murphy mentioned the possibility of attending the Mares’ Chase at Cheltenham, leaving the decision to Gavin.

Formerly with Gordon Elliott, the 16-5 chance made all the running to win on his chase debut at the expense of Aggagio. The winner had benefited from a recent schooling session under Tony McCoy, and the success was overshadowed by the loss of favorite Immortal on the second circuit. Trainer O’Neill decided to move the horse to Harry’s stable due to behavioral issues, and the victory was particularly satisfying given the short time Harry had had the horse.

In a separate event, the 4-1 chance was steered to glory by O’Neill’s son AJ, with the first four home qualifying for the final at Cheltenham, including topweight Chantry House. After the race, many racegoers took the opportunity to have their picture taken with the trophy in the Members Bar and later the Gurneys Bar.