'She just has extra gears' - Sly effusive in her praise of unbeaten Eileendover

Pam Sly is unsure whether she will send the unbeaten Eileendover to the Cheltenham Festival despite her odds being halved to 10-1 for the Champion Bumper after a magnificent performance in the Listed mares' bumper.

Having won her first two races by a combined 45 lengths, this was the four-year-old's toughest assignment yet but she made light work of her six rivals as she cruised through from the back of the field under Paul O'Brien.

Miss Lamb was a well-beaten six and a half lengths behind in second while Willie Mullins came up short in his attempt to win this race for the second successive year as Grangee finished third.

"I said to Paul if we finish in the first three I'll be delighted because these other mares are jolly good," said Sly, who is also the owner of Eileendover with her son Michael.

Pam Sly on Eileendover: 'She just has extra gears, it's quite amazing.'

"I was very worried about the ground because she's quite lightly framed and hasn't filled out yet, but she just changed gear and away she went. She must be quite good mustn't she? She just has extra gears, it's quite amazing."

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Despite the stunning nature of her win, Eileendover's participation at Cheltenham is under consideration with some summer escapades on the Flat also on the horizon.

She said: "I'm not too keen on going to Cheltenham because it's so competitive and seems to really knock them off their perch for a while. I've got lots of time to think about it because I don't have to do the entry until the beginning of March. I'll have to talk to Michael about it."

Eclair springs 80-1 shock

The day began in nightmare fashion for punters, but gloriously for trainer Richard Bandey as he registered his first winner over jumps in 601 days as 80-1 shot Eclair Mag sprang a huge surprise in the 3m handicap chase.

Harrison Beswick's mount was the complete outsider of the nine-runner field in which he was making his debut for the yard following his summer recruitment from Emmanuel Clayeux in France.

However, he belied his odds as he came from behind to lead at the second-last before going on to score by four and three-quarter lengths from 5-2 joint-favourite Mac Tottie.

Eclair Mag (Harrison Beswick) kicked off the Market Rasen card as a surprise 80-1 winnerCredit: Pool

"I wasn't expecting that," admitted Bandey. "I wasn't sure whether he'd like the ground. He'd schooled very well at home but he doesn't show you a huge amount and we were coming here to find out a bit more really.

"It's a total shock to the system – at 80-1 it's the same to everyone else as well, isn't it?"

Reflecting on his barren run, Bandey said: "That's our first winner for a long time and it's not easy. We're a small yard and it's competitive. To have a Saturday winner is unbelievable."

It was at Market Rasen that Hampshire-based Bandey sent out his first winner as a professional trainer in 2018, and he said: "I'm two from three here now – we'll come back again!"

Edwardstone cut for Betfair

The Betfair Hurdle is in Edwardstone's sights after he outclassed his rivals in the 2m½f handicap hurdle.

The Alan King-trained seven-year-old barely broke sweat as he breezed through the four-runner field under Gavin Sheehan.

The sponsors cut Edwardstone, sixth in last year’s Supreme Novices' Hurdle, to 12-1 (from 20) for the Grade 3 at Newbury next month.

Results, replays and analysis

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