Magnanimity

Magnanimity put up a taking performance to land the Grade 2 two-and-a-half-mile novices' hurdle at Fairyhouse on Tuesday. Settled nicely towards the back of the seven-runner field by Davy Russell and always towards the outside, he travelled well on the heavy ground and jumped well out of it behind a decent pace that was set by habitual front-runner Frascati Park, given the testing conditions. Four horses wide on the home turn, the Gigginstown House horse moved up nicely with minimal encouragement from Russell on the run to the second last, went past the well-backed Rigour Back Bob and into second place behind Frascati Park after jumping that obstacle, took it up on the run to the last, pricked his ears and cleared away really nicely to post an impressive victory.

This was a decent race without perhaps being the best Grade 2 race ever run. Whodoyouthink and Rigour Back Bob were both well-backed, and it is perhaps not ideal for the race that the fairly well-exposed Frascati Park could hold on for second place. Nigel Twiston-Davies's horse is a decent performer on his day, and this was obviously one of his days, but he has been proved to be just shy of top class, and he is still a maiden over hurdles. That said, you can only ever beat what they put in front of you, and Magnanimity was fair value for the four-length winning margin. Winner of his only point-to-point at Dromahane last April, the son of Winged Love has never been out of the first three in six runs now on the track. Beaten just two lengths by Luska Lad on his racecourse debut in a maiden hurdle at Galway last October, when he had decent performers Liss Na Tintri and Misala behind him, he won his maiden hurdle on heavy ground at Navan in December, but it was always likely that we weren't going to see the best of the Dessie Hughes-trained gelding until he stepped up in trip. He is a half-brother to staying chaser Forest Dante, and his dam is a half-sister to Grand National winner Amberleigh House, and he seemed to appreciate every yard of this two-and-a-half-mile trip. He seemed to idle on the run-in here, he was pricking his ears and looking around him, and he probably had a fair bit more in hand than the four-length winning margin. He is a horse of significant potential, he will be of interest if he goes to Punchestown, he should be fresh enough, given that he was having his first run since January here, and he is another really exciting prospect for next season.

6th April 2010

© The Irish Field, 10th April

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