Road To Home
Road To Home put up a nice performance to win the two-and-a-quarter-mile beginners' chase at Galway on Tuesday. Sent to the front from early by Brian Hayes, he was quickly into a good racing and jumping rhythm. Karl Des Tourelles and Captain Ryan Matt closed up on his outside on the run to the final two fence in the dip, but he jumped those two fences well, as he had the previous 10, and he stayed on well around the home turn and up the hill to win by almost three lengths, eased down, with more in hand than the bare winning margin.
This was a really likeable performance by Willie Mullins' horse, over a distance that should have been well short of his best. Beaten a neck in the Kim Muir at Cheltenham last March, and beaten a total of three parts of a length in the Bet365 Gold Cup at Sandown in April, this was his first run since then, so he should improve for it. He should also improve for stepping back up in distance, but he showed a lot of pace here over the shorter distance in a slowly-run race, and that opens up options for him. A seven-year-old who has raced just seven times over fences, he has the potential to go beyond his handicap rating of 138 this season. He could be competitive in some of those high-class staying handicap chases. The Coral Gold Cup was mentioned as a possible target, and that would be a legitimate target.
Galway, 6th October 2026
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