'She's a different girl again' - Marie's Rock finds her mojo to stun the Irish

Tuesday: Mares' Hurdle, Cheltenham

Unveiling a bona fide superstar and seeing a former champion bounce back is all very well but a British trainer knows it really is his day when he lands the Mares' Hurdle.

Constitution Hill may be the next Dawn Run and Epatante may have looked as good as ever in chasing Honeysuckle home, but stablemate Marie's Rock was the one who really made those recent "Nicky Henderson out of form" stories look silly.

This Close Brothers-backed Grade 1 is usually an Irish benefit. It had been won just once by a British contender since Donald McCain took the inaugural running with Whiteoak in 2008 – and that triumph was entirely due to Benie Des Dieux's fall at the last in 2019.

Nor has life been at all straightforward of late for Marie's Rock herself, as reflected by a starting price of 18-1 for a race featuring five former festival winners.

Yet it is the ability to solve a problem like Marie's Rock that is the mark of a champion, and Henderson was entitled to reflect on a job well done.

The complexion of the race changed at the penultimate flight, where two former festival winners crashed out, with Indefatigable falling and bringing down Telmesomethinggirl. Both horses and jockeys Rex Dingle and Rachael Blackmore escaped unhurt.

It left Nico de Boinville to conjure a strong finish from Marie's Rock to lead on the run-in and see off Jack Kennedy on Queens Brook by a length and three-quarters to the delight of the enthusiastic members of the Middleham Park syndicate which owns her.

'She's a hardy girl'

"She was nearly favourite for the mares' novice the year before last but she went wrong a week before, which was heartbreaking," Henderson recalled.

"We got her back last year and she went AWOL, I couldn't find her at all. She had a summer up with Ann Duffield and she was a different girl again.

Nico de Boinville celebrates on Marie's RockCredit: Edward Whitaker

"She wants burying away and she'll fight, she's tough. I was always happy enough with her. She's a hardy girl.

"I'm thrilled for Tom Palin, who looks after Middleham Park. It must have been difficult for them, we had such dreams of her."

Palin's father Tim paid tribute to his son's handling of the winner and her owners, and said: "It's a fantastic achievement. Tom has to take most of the credit, he was adamant he wanted to buy this mare.

"The journey's been so up and down; she was riding on the crest of a wave to begin with and then I don't know where she went for 18 months. She kind of lost the plot, but Nicky and Tom have managed her beautifully to bring her right back to the crescendo."

Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle: full result and race replay

De Boinville said: "I was riding her for a place because I was fully aware there was a bit of depth to the race coming into this. She's just come into her own today."

Gordon Elliott was happy with Queens Brook and said: "She's run a very good race. Jack said softer ground would've suited her better, but the winner's won well. No excuses."

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