Cheltenham Festival - Epatante emerges as Vintage Clouds and Lady Buttons fail to stay

Surging up the Cheltenham run-in under Barry Geraghty, the mare’s win provided owner JP McManus with a record ninth win in the race on the tycoon and gambler’s 69th birthday.

And showing no signs of the cough that so perturbed trainer Nicky Henderson last week, the six-year-old has the potential – based on this run – to dominate the hurdling division.

Backed into 2-1 favouritism by McManus, and many others, this was the headline performance on a competitive day in which the Yorkshire runners struggled to make their mark at National Hunt racing’s flagship meeting.

Henry Brooke ultimately pulled Micky Hammond’s Cornerstone Lad up in the Champion Hurdle – the Fighting Fifth winner was prominent early on before classier contenders came to the fore.

Phil Kirby’s Lady Buttons put up a brave run in the hands of Tommy Dowson before fading into seventh in the Mares’ Hurdle, her stablemate Desary Girl was last in a race that saw Irish challenger Honeysuckle beat odds-on favourite Benie Des Dieux under Rachael Blackmore.

And Sue Smith’s Vintage Clouds jumped for fun under Ryan Mania in the Ultima Handicap Chase. Prominent for the first two-thirds of the race, the grey’s weight began to tell before he plugged on for eighth.

Yet, while connections will be disappointed not to have finished closer, they all ran with credit on a day thankfully free of coronavirus controversy, in which Epatante established herself as a worthy champion.

Always travelling well in the hands of Geraghty, Epatante loomed into contention before taking over the lead from Darver Star, the ultimate third, at the final flight.

Sharjah came from a long way back to throw down a challenge on the run-in, but Epatante never looked in serious danger of being caught and passed the post a facile winner – much to the delight of the majority of the crowd.

Henderson was completing a double on the day, having earlier landed the Supreme Novices’ Hurdle with Shishkin, and is once again the winning-most trainer in Festival history with 66 winners.

Compensation for the trainer after stable star Altior had to be withdrawn from the Queen Mother Champion Chase, Henderson was winning the race for a record eighth time – putting Yorkshire training legend Peter Easterby’s five victories, the previous best, in the shade.

“It’s a nice race, isn’t it? It goes back such a long time since the first one, which was I think was 1985 [See You Then], so it’s quite a long time,” he reflected.

“She was always travelling and you were always quite pleased with where she was. Barry gave her a beautiful ride. He always just had it covered and she has the gears.

“I was worried a bit after last year, when she didn’t run well in the mares’ novice hurdle, and she fell to pieces afterwards. She went home to [owner J P McManus’s stud] Martinstown – I sent her there looking awful and she came back looking fantastic, a million dollars.

“She’s as good as she looked the only two times she’s run this year. The big worry was when she came here last year and I thought she’d win, and she didn’t show up. Sophie Candy rides her every single day of the year, and she deserves great credit.”

This was echoed by Geraghty who was riding a record-equalling fourth win in the Champion Hurdle. He said: “Nicky has done brilliantly with her, as has Sophie Candy, who looks after her.

“The mare has improved no end since Christmas, but Sophie has waited on her every day. She’s in with her 10 days a week! Minding her and minding her, and it’s that love and care and attention to detail which makes a difference. There is no better trainer of a Champion Hurdler or any Cheltenham winner than Nicky Henderson – he is unbelievable.

“There are always a lot of decisions to be made in the run up to a race and thankfully, they went right, as they can often go wrong.”

Geraghty also heaped praise on McManus – and the debt that racing owes the longstanding ownwer who does so much, behind the scenes, to support the sport. “JP is sourcing this talent and he supports the game at every level. The birthday cheer he got today reflects what people think of him because he is a top-class man,” he added.

Fitting words on a day when Geraghty, McManus, Henderson and Epatante proved that they’re all champions to celebrate and cherish.