Impressive Grade 2 Victory For Son Of Flemensfirth

An ultra-impressive performance saw Castlegrace Paddy (7g Flemensfirth - Thunder Road, by Mtoto) run out a 16 length winner of the Grade 2 Kerry Group Hilly Way Chase at Cork on Sunday.

Pat Fahy’s lightly-raced charge ran just three times last season, winning on two occassions, including at Listed level. He had Great Field to contend with at Cork, but his faultless jumping was something the favourite could not boast, and he asserted with three fences left to jump. Scampering clear to complete the two mile circuit on soft ground, he won under little encouragement from Paul Townend.

Fahy, who trains the winner for Clipper Logistics, later commented, “If Castlegrace Paddy didn't do it today we were going to struggle for the rest of the year because he was just working out of this world. We'll got to Leopardstown at Christmas and we'll aim to have in in tip-top shape for March.”

Castlegrace Paddy was bought for current connections by Gerry Hogan for€75,000 at the Goffs Punchestown Sale, having finished a close second on his sole point-to-point start for Aidan Fitzgerald. He was bred by P.J.W. Byrne out of a mare who, aptly, Pat Fahy trained.