Cheltenham Day Three: Heart Wood wins the Ryanair chase

Cheltenham Day Three schedule:

Novices’ Hurdle: Winner- White Noise

Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase: Winner- Meetmebythesea

Mares’ Hurdle: Winner - Woodhooh

Stayers’ Hurdle: Winner - Home by the Lee

Ryanair Chase: Winner: Heart Wood

Pertemps Network Final: Winner - Supremely West

5.20pm – Fulke Walwyn Kim Muir Challenge Cup Handicap Steeple Chase

Willie Mullins has expressed his annoyance at conditions at the Cheltenham Festival after withdrawing star chaser Fact To File from the Ryanair Chase on Thursday.

The ground at Prestbury Park was officially described as good, good to soft in places for the third day of the meeting, but after Fact To File’s owner JP McManus walked the track on Thursday morning and having witnessed some of his own team during the early races on the card, Mullins was not prepared to risk his Irish Gold Cup hero.

Mullins told Racing TV: “JP walked the track this morning and I happened to walk it coming across the track after exercising horses. Looking at Bambino Fever (unplaced favourite in first race) and looking at the ground, I thought ‘this ground is going to be too good for her’ and sure enough she wasn’t able to act on it.

“I said to JP these horses are too difficult to get and acquire and you have to mind them. We waited and waited for the rain that was promised, it hasn’t come, so we made the decision not to run. These horses are too hard to find, too hard to get.”

Mullins went on to explain that, although appreciating the forecast rain had not materialised, he felt further watering could have taken place to ensure softer underfoot conditions ahead of the action switching to the New course.

Supremely West wins the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle for the Skeltons.

Laviva Adiva comes second after a fine run.

Ikarak takes third and there’s three or four horses in contention for fourth.

Heart Wood is the convincing winner of the Ryanair Chase, as he got stronger as the race went on.

Jonbon is second again and Banbridge comes up to get into third.

Trained by Henry de Bromhead and ridden by Darragh O’Keeffe, Heart Wood went off a 9-2 chance after Fact To File was withdrawn and was bidding to go one better than his second-placed finish behind that horse last year.

The eight-year-old always looked comfortable and drew level with JPR One, who made the running, at the turn for home before pulling clear up the hill to register a 10-length victory over the 2-1 favourite Jonbon.

In a thrilling finish, it was Home by the Lee who finished strongest to claim victory.

The horse, trained by Joseph O’Brien, was 40/1 in some places before the race.

Ballyburn by Willie Mullins finished in second, while Bob Olinger finished in third.

J J Slevin aboard the 11-year-old urgently asked his mount to move on to Hewick’s tail moving down hill but as he rounded the turn for home the pursuers were queuing up to make their challenge, with Home By The Lee already giving maximum effort.

The eye was drawn in particular to Dan Skelton’s Kabral Du Mathan under a motionless Harry Skelton as he hit the front jumping the final obstacle.

Woodhooh is the winner in the Mares' Hurdle in a thrilling race, a winner for Gordon Elliot, his first of the week.

Jade De Grugy pushed things close but Jack Kennedy does enough to get Woodhooh over the line. Feet of a Dancer finished third.

The six-year-old won the last race of the meeting, the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle, 12 months ago and proved a welcome tonic for her handler once again after some disappointing reversals in the opening two days of the meeting.

Sent off the 5-6 market leader in the hands of Jack Kennedy after two impressive victories this term, she demonstrated her class to hold off last year’s runner-up Jade de Grugy up the run-in and strike at the highest level for the first time.

Meetmebythesea wins the Novices’ Limited Handicap Chase in another winner for JP McManus.

Gold Dancer had the lead heading into the second last, but Meetmebythesea got over nicely and pulled away for a comfortable win.

Tom Bellamy tasted success at the Cheltenham Festival for the first time as White Noise regained the winning thread in the Ryanair Mares’ Novices’ Hurdle.

A three-time winner earlier in the season, she was then defeated in Grade Two company at Warwick last month, but roared back to form with a brilliant performance from the front end.

A superb leap at the last sealed victory for the 40-1 chance, who is a first Festival success for Gold Cup-winning trainer Kim Bailey in combination with training partner Mat Nicholls.

The latter said: “You’re going to have to give me a minute, I’m a bit excitable!

“She’s just improved all year long. We thought long and hard about whether we should come here or not and we just thought with it being on the New course it was a bit of a stiffer test for her.

“Tom was absolutely brilliant on her at the start. It’s a shame the starts this week have been a bit of a shambles, but Tom Bellamy at the start there was an absolute genius – he has somehow managed to get to the front, and I still don’t really know how he did it.

“I thought she’d run well – I thought she might get in the first six, I can’t say I thought she’d win.”

White Noise is the first winner of the day in the Novices' Hurdle at 40/1.

Oldschool Outlaw pushed White Noise hard at the end, Place De La Nation coming in third.

The British Horseracing Authority’s inquiry into a complaint by Irish amateur jockey Declan Queally against Nico de Boinville will conclude after the Cheltenham Festival.

De Boinville and Queally exchanged words as they tried to secure a position close to the tapes at the start of the Turners Novices’ Hurdle, with the race going off four minutes late following a prolonged effort to get the 21 runners into a suitable order.

Returning to the weighing room following the race, Queally, whose mount I’ll Sort That finished fifth, told Matt Chapman on ITV Racing: “The start was a bit of a mess and I got trapped back further than I wanted.

“I was being abused by an English rider Nico de Boinville and it’s not very nice. I’m an amateur coming here riding in front of my kids and that, it’s horrific.”

Riding runner-up Act Of Innocence, De Boinville responded: “Maybe he should look in the mirror.”

It later transpired Queally had made an official complaint due to “an incident at the start”, but that process is not expected to be completed for a few days.

A BHA spokesperson said: “The process of gathering evidence will continue over the course of the coming days and will involve speaking to jockeys and reviewing broadcast footage.

“This process will take some time and will therefore not be concluded during the Festival.”

Welcome to our coverage of day three of the Cheltenham racing festival.

After two dramatic days of racing, Thursday is set to bring more action, with the standout race at 4 pm in the Ryanair Chase.

So far, Willie Mullins has three winners, while the leading jockey is Paul Townend with three wins.

In the Prestbury Cup, Ireland leads Great Britain with eight wins to six.