Mount Ida Tops Super Saturday For Yeats

Mount Ida (8m Yeats - Jolivia, by Dernier Empereur) topped a fruitful day for Castlehyde Stud sire Yeats when winning the Grade 3 Mares Chase at Fairyhouse.

Successful in a Listed chase on her seasonal return, Gordon Elliott’s charge was sent off second favourite under Davy Russell and produced a challenge approaching the second last. Soon in front, she kept on well to deny the favourite by half a length on the line.

“She's a great mare,” Elliott late commented. “I've been thinking about the Grand National for her, but you'd have to look at the Mares' Chase for her after that now.”

Saturday marked a third black-type win over fences for Mount Ida, who is owned by KTDA Racing and was bred by Philip Hore.

Elliott was also on the scoreboard at Tramore, where he took the maiden hurdle with Where It All Began (6g Yeats - Peggy Cullen, by Presenting).

Placed in two bumpers, the Killian Traynor-bred bay finished a promising second on hurdle debut in November and displayed a determined attitude at Tramore, beating the short-priced favourite on the line. The son of Yeats is owned by the McNeill family with Patrick and Scott Bryceland.

Earlier that afternoon at Exeter, Dubrovnik Harry (6g Yeats - Kashmir Lady, by Rock Of Gibraltar) produced an impressive performance in the maiden hurdle for Harry Fry.

A promising debut third at the track last month, he was sent off a short-priced favourite under Lorcan Murtagh and justified the support by all of 25 lengths. He becomes the second winner bred by Jim Culloty out of the mare Kashmir Lady.

Meanwhile at Musselburgh, Pitempton Power (7g Yeats - Western Euro, by Westerner) justified favouritism to make it two from two over fences. Callum Bewley partnered the Ewan Whillans-trained bay to win by six lengths in comfortable fashion. The improving seven-year-old is owned by Alan Brown and was bred by John Mulcahy.