'Headscratcher' Mt Fugi Park breaks chasing duck with polished performance in feature event

Mt Fugi Park continued the good form of the O'Neill family as the unexposed seven-year-old broke his duck over fences in the 3m½f handicap chase.

Joint-trainers Jonjo and AJ O'Neill and rider Jonjo Jr combined for victory at Aintree with Wellington Arch, and the trio continued in that vein when Mt Fugi Park showed an excellent attitude in first-time cheekpieces to fight off Finn Lough and Moon Over Mexico.

The point-to-point winner had landed a maiden and novice hurdle last season but had failed to make an impact in two chase runs so far. He put in a much more enthusiastic performance this time, somewhat justifying the £290,000 connections paid for him at Cheltenham in 2023.

"He'd been a bit of a headscratcher," AJ O'Neill said. "It was nice to see him get the job done and get his nose in front. 

"The cheekpieces certainly didn't do him any harm. I'd love to say we've unlocked a magical secret with him, but I don't know why he bounced back today – he'd been working well and schooling well. 

"It's just nice to see him go well for the Tanzanite partnership today as they have a few nice horses with us. It doesn't matter how much they cost, we're trying to get them all to win and it's great when it comes together. 

"We'll see how he comes out of the race before making a plan."

Gift grinds out victory

Iamcelestialgift looked to have a mountain to climb as Theatre Light struck for home in the 2m3½f maiden hurdle, but the debutant showed guts and ability to mow him down in the shadows of the line for Kielan Woods and training duo David Killahena and Graeme McPherson.

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