? Protester blunders on to track during race climax
? Champion stayer will be kept over hurdles, says Nicholls
Ruby Walsh steered Big Buck's to his third consecutive World Hurdle here on Thursday but half an hour earlier he was one of a number of jockeys incensed by the actions of a protester whom came close to bringing down the runners in the Ryanair Chase.
The man, who held a placard with a slogan criticising the budget airline, was just a few yards from Albertas Run, the race winner, and nine more finishers as the Grade One event reached its climax.
The intruder, believed to be John Foley, the author of an internet blog called Ryanairdontcare, was arrested on suspicion of a public order offence and fined �80. He was then removed from the racecourse and sent home.
He is also likely to face disciplinary action by the British Horseracing Authority, which is expected to use a banning order to prevent him entering any British tracks in future. A similar order was used to ban James Florey, a student, who collided with a horse when attempting to cross the track at Royal Ascot in 1994.
Edward Gillespie, Cheltenham managing director, said: "We put a security person on every possible exit in the championship races but we had no intelligence suggesting we had reason to do that for the Ryanair."
Michael O'Leary, the owner of Ryanair, is a leading racehorse owner and had a winner at the Festival with First Lieutenant on Wednesday.
Tonight Foley's blog carried an apology for his actions. It read: "I wish to apologise to spectators and mostly to the jockeys today at Cheltenham. It was wrong what I did today but I would hope you can see the bigger picture."
Walsh had his own apology to make later after dropping his whip before the final flight of the World Hurdle, in which Big Buck's nevertheless rallied to beat Grands Crus in a thrilling battle. "It was a bad mistake to drop my stick," Walsh said. "It was my own fault because I was trying to figure out where they were behind me and only half-watching what I was doing. It was schoolboy-like. It's not my greatest hour in the saddle [but] he is a wonderful horse and he got me out today."
For the third year running the great staying hurdler rose to the challenge. Big Buck's has yet to be beaten over hurdles since he reverted to the smaller obstacles after unseating at the last in the 2008 Hennessy Gold Cup at Newbury and, though this was harder work than many of his races, for the 11th time running he got the job done.
Grands Crus may yet have his moment and so might Mourad, who finished third. Both horses are six-year-olds, two years younger than Big Buck's, and age will catch up with any champion eventually.
Big Buck's is just 6-4 with Hills, though, to return again next year and record an unprecedented fourth win in the World Hurdle and the worrying news for his opponents is that he looked better than ever here.
Paul Nicholls, the trainer of Big Buck's, has sometimes speculated about a second attempt to turn him into a chaser but the pursuit of a record fourth win in the World Hurdle is the only aim now.
"We'll have to try and make it four now," he said. "He's still only a young horse and one thing is for certain, he won't be going chasing now."
Big Buck's was Nicholls's second winner at the meeting, following Al Ferof's success in the opening race on Tuesday. There have been several disappointments in between, though, and Poquelin, 2-1 favourite for the Ryanair Chase, was another as he failed to make the frame behind Albertas Run.
"You need a horse that wants to win," Tony McCoy, the winning jockey, said. "He probably lacks a little bit of intelligence, like I do, so he keeps coming back for more."
McCoy was completing a double after taking the opener, the only winner on the day for Ireland, while Buena Vista was a third repeat winner on the six-race card in the Pertemps Final.
David Pipe's hurdler has run at the Festival seven years in a row and, apart from his two victories, he has finished third in the Supreme Novice Hurdle. He, too, is likely to return next year, when he could equal the record of the hugely popular Willie Wumpkins with a third success in the race.
Source: http://www.guardian.co.uk/sport/2011/mar/17/big-bucks-third-world-hurdle
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