'This is just a crazy old place' - hurdling debutant Poniros causes huge 100-1 upset in the Triumph

Jonjo O'Neill Jr had just about had enough of the Cheltenham Festival after the second race on Thursday but less than 24 hours later he was celebrating a second success at this year's meeting after 100-1 shot Poniros made a winning debut over jumps in the JCB Triumph Hurdle.

Had it been up to the winning rider's agent he would have been riding at Doncaster on Friday but a late call-up from Closutton saw O'Neill Jr add to Thursday's success on Jagwar with a horse who had been beaten in his last seven Flat races.

The jockey was reeling after his mount Springwell Bay suffered a fatal injury early on Thursday's card but after Jagwar lifted his spirits in the Plate, Poniros completely turned his fortunes around.

"I was really hoping for a winner this week but when we lost Springwell Bay I thought it wasn't going to be my week," said the winning rider. "I'm still gutted about losing Springwell. He was my dad and AJ's best horse and it was devastating. I was annoyed originally just because he'd fallen because he was cantering at the time but to realise he'd lost his life was really damning.

"But this is just a crazy old place, where things can turn around so quickly, and thankfully Jagwar managed to win. We were just here for a good time today and it's turned into an even better one."

Poniros (blue) has ground to make up jumping the last behind leader East India Dock and Lulamba (second left)Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

Asked when he first found out the ride was available, he added: "Only at 11am on Wednesday morning. I was supposed to be going to Doncaster and my agent said, "I think you [should] stay at Doncaster" but it was a ride for Willie Mullins and the results this week have been crazy.

"I'd have been so annoyed had I gone to Doncaster today and not ridden that horse and that just shows that anything you ride of Willie's at the festival has a chance. They thought he had an engine and it's turned out he's got a pretty big one."

Even by Mullins' exceptional standards, scooping the Triumph with a 100-1 shot who had never jumped a hurdle in public bordered on fantasy and even caught the great man by surprise.

"I didn't expect that," he said. "I don't think I've ever really given him a serious gallop at home. I was thinking more of him having a nice experience today but he has huge experience from the Flat and that's a huge advantage. I didn't think he'd be sharp enough but his Flat-race experience came into it in the last three furlongs.

"We were hoping he'd run well and be a nice horse for next year. So he's ahead of schedule!"

The winner carried the colours of Brighton and Hove Albion chairman Tony Bloom, a man who isn't shy of having a bet, but Mullins gave him no reason to part with his money on this occasion.

"If Tony Bloom backed him, it wasn't on my advice," said the trainer. "I didn't expect any more than a nice run. We had a lot of horses in the race and they all came here with the same plan. I couldn't believe it when I saw him flying through the middle of them."

There was heartbreak for connections of Lulamba, who finally mastered favourite East India Dock but had the race pickpocketed away in the dying strides.

Poniros gets up under Jonjo O'Neill Jr to beat Lulamba by a neckCredit: John Grossick (racingpost.com/photos)

"As Nico de Boinville said, the winner has come so late that he couldn’t see him and therefore couldn’t respond to him," said Lulamba's trainer Nicky Henderson.

“He's only a baby and that's only the third run of his life. He'll have learned an awful lot today. He was just a little untidy on the way around. Off that pace, when you don’t know a lot, it was tough for him, but he's got there. He has won the battle but lost the war."

Big things are still possible for Lulamba over jumps but back on the Flat is where the future may ultimately lie for the winner.

"I imagine we'll go to Punchestown now and then look at something at Royal Ascot," said Mullins. "He was bought as a dual-purpose horse and I'm hoping these types of horses might make into Melbourne Cup horses. That's why we buy them, with a long-term eye on the Melbourne Cup."

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