'Warrior' Teahupoo wins third Hatton's Grace Hurdle but Ballyburn new favourite for Stayers'

It was a third Hatton's Grace Hurdle for Teahupoo, but he was dislodged as favourite for the Stayers' Hurdle by the horse he beat.

Ballyburn is the new 2-1 market leader for the Thursday showpiece at the Cheltenham Festival with the sponsors Paddy Power, despite losing out by a nose in a humdinger of a Hatton's Grace that lived up to every bit of its pre-race billing.

Teahupoo got first run, cleared the last and clung on courageously to emulate legends of the game Limestone Lad, Solerina, Honeysuckle and Apple's Jade, who all won the race three times. It was a glorious day for Gordon Elliott, who won half the contests on the eight-race card.

But, as always seems to be the case with Teahupoo, he did not receive the recognition he deserves as most of the post-race chat was about how well Ballyburn coped with his return to hurdling following a season novice chasing. 

He would have cut every daisy in the place had it been summer as his head-carriage was lower than ever, reminiscent of Mary Reveley's great staying chaser Seven Towers in the 1990s.

But, boy, the engine is still there. He was mowing down Teahupoo with every stride but the line came a smidgen too soon.

"He felt like a happier horse than he was last season," Paul Townend said of Ballyburn. "I thought it was a decent run and it's a good starting point for his season."

Back to the winner. Teahupoo is now a 13-time winner and six times at the highest level. That's some CV for a gelding who is still only eight and hasn't been overraced. He is now generally 3-1 to regain the Stayers' Hurdle crown in March, although 4-1 is available in a couple of places.

"He’s a warrior of a horse and we’re so lucky to have him," said an ecstatic Elliott. "We knew we were rolling the dice coming back to two and a half miles, but it just looked like the perfect starting point for him. Jack [Kennedy] said he couldn’t have gone another gear faster. When you take a horse out of its comfort zone early in these types of races it’s very hard.

"He’s not a two-and-a-half-miler, he’s a three-mile horse. He’s slow and he’s not getting any younger. He’s got a heart like a lion and we said we’d take our chance. We wouldn’t have wanted another day of drying ground though. He was at the pin of his collar to go with him [leader and stablemate Casheldale Lad], even in that race."

Gordon Elliott gees up the crowd after Teahupoo's third Hatton's Grace winCredit: Patrick McCann

Last season Teahupoo skipped winter and waited for the spring at Cheltenham and Punchestown, but he is not certain to do the same this term.

Asked whether it was straight to the Stayers', Elliott replied: "Probably, but that’s not concrete. You mind a horse for a race all season and then get a stone bruise, anything can happen, so we'll see. We’re not saying he’s going to run again, but we’re not ruling it out either.

"Leopardstown would have to come up very soft for him to run there at Christmas."

On his special Sunday that included both Grade 1s, the trainer added: "I’m getting the bounce of the ball at the moment, and on another day it will be someone else. I’ve had plenty of days where I didn’t get the bounce of the ball."

When you have warriors like Teahupoo, it always helps you to get the bounce of the ball.

Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle (Cheltenham, March 12)
Paddy Power: 2 Ballyburn. 5-2 Teahupoo, 10 Impose Toi, 14 Bob Olinger, Honesty Policy, 16 The Yellow Clay, 20 bar.

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