Long Walk Hurdle: Crambo hearts out to defend Ascot Grade One title for Fergal O’Brien and Johnny Burke | Racing News

Crambo repeated his victory from last year when he held on grimly to win a second Howden Long Walk Hurdle at Ascot.

Since winning the race 12 months ago, his career has been in danger of unraveling after disappointing at Cheltenham and Aintree.

Trainer Fergal O’Brien had wanted him back in action at Newbury last month, but that wasn’t quite right, so his return to the season meant he had to compete against racing rivals in a Grade 1 team.

After being sent off at 9/1, Crambo still had a lot of work to do on the penultimate jump before his stamina came into play.

The race had been taken over by Beauport, better known as the chaser, and with him so slightly in the lead, it appeared on the penultimate flight that he had drifted away from the field.

At the last jump he was still in the lead, but overcame the obstacle perhaps a little too big, giving Crambo a chance to gain a lead.

After Johnny Burke had mastered him, there was a new danger when Henry de Bromhead’s Hiddenvalley Lake fended off the final challenge, but he narrowly failed with his head. Beauport remained third, The Wallpark fourth.

The favored strong leader was one of the first to be beaten and it never looked like he would win.

Jungle Boogie opens the Christmas party

Jungle Boogie gave Henry de Bromhead and Darragh O’Keeffe their first win at Ascot Howden final hunt.

The talented but extremely fragile 10-year-old managed every meter of the race, making for quite an eventful affair.

Only four took up the post, with only Iroko training in the UK while the others traveled from Ireland.

Unfortunately for those supporting Iroko, they knew their fate early on, as as he jumped the first fence he collided in mid-air with the errant Fil Dor, leaving Jonjo O’Neill Jr. no chance.

Jungle Boogie took the field with him, but the pace was leisurely and clearly too slow for James Du Berlais, who was sharp and making mistakes in the hands of Daryl Jacob.

The leader had done very well in the Gold Cup last time out but couldn’t survive the ride at Cheltenham and on the second lap he started to jump further and further to the left.

Formerly trained by Willie Mullins, he remained unbeaten in a bumper, a maiden hurdle and a novice’s chase, but having only had three runs for the Closutton leader in almost as many years, he then had over two years off before he moved to De Bromhead.

However, he has been healthy since then and is clearly a talented performer, easily emerging as a winner by eight lengths.

Family affair as Thank You Ma’am scores for Nicholl’s team

Young rider Olive Nicholls kept it in the family with her first Ascot win Thank you, ma’am came out victorious Thames Materials Novice Handicap Hurdle.

Competing for her mother Georgie against a field that included a rival coached by her father Paul, Nicholls took a prominent position on the maroon as he tried to assert himself after finishing second six times.

The duo managed the entire race, found a nice rhythm with a decent jump lap and took the lead in the last corner.

Nobody was able to land a punch on the way to the finish line and it was the 11/4 favorite who claimed a seven-and-a-half-year success to give the mother-daughter partnership even more reason to celebrate this Christmas.

Gary and Josh Moore Feces mask then prevailed in the Howden Handicap Chasewhich justifies the 13/8 preference under Caoilin Quinn.

The six-year-old had already run well on the track twice this season without winning, but bested those attempts by a length and a half and three quarters, despite a slow jump last time out.