Impressive Iroko 10-1 for Brown Advisory after stylish win - but trainer has warning for punters

Cheltenham Festival winner Iroko has given connections an exciting dilemma after making an instant impact over fences in the Stan Mellor Memorial Novices' Chase.

Iroko provided Oliver Greenall and Josh Guerriero with their first Cheltenham Festival winner when landing the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys' Handicap Hurdle and the JP McManus-owned five-year-old made a successful chasing debut in the feature 2m4f contest.

Jonjo O'Neill Jr always looked comfortable aboard the 11-10 favourite, who pulled three and a quarter lengths clear of Golden Son, a Grade 2 hurdles winner in France having his first start for Paul Nicholls, on the bridle.

"Jonjo said he jumped really well and felt a lot stronger, better horse than he did last season which is nice to hear," said Greenall. "It's just nice when they show on the track what they've been showing at home."

Iroko was cut into 10-1 (from 20) with most firms for the Brown Advisory Novices' Chase and has already demonstrated his capabilities over three miles when finishing third in the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle at Aintree's Grand National meeting.

However, he is more likely to attempt to emulate Stage Star, who took this race on his way to landing the Turners Novices' Chase last season.

Iroko is no bigger than 14-1 for that Cheltenham Festival Grade 1 over the intermediate distance and Greenall said: "Ideally, I think you'd just stay at the same trip. At the moment you probably wouldn't go up in trip, unless it was better ground."

A £40,000 Class 2 novice event at Cheltenham and the Grade 2 Howden Noel Novices' Chase at Ascot were raised as possibilities for Iroko's next engagement.

"I'd say we'll wait to go three miles as he's a novice and travelling so well," said Greenall. "You could wait another year to go up to three but we'll just have to see how we go."

Awesome Ambition

A recommendation from Barry Geraghty to Ben Pauling to buy Personal Ambition paid off as the four-year-old made a successful rules debut in the opening division of the 2m3f novice hurdle.

The 12-1 shot was Pauling's first runner in the familiar orange and black silks of Lynne Maclennan, and he got the better of Nicky Henderson's odds-on favourite Jingko Blue. 

Henderson gained swift compensation in the second division when Kintail, who beat Persian War third Rock House in a bumper at Warwick in May, followed up at the same track to make a successful hurdling debut under Nico de Boinville.

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