Bold jumping display seals easy Foxhunter success for favourite Hazel Hill

The Foxhunter can occasionally feel like a bit of a breather after the thrill of a Gold Cup 40 minutes earlier. It certainly wasn't the case this year, as favourite Hazel Hill picked up best off a testing gallop to give Philip Rowley and jockey Alex Edwards a first festival win.

As is his way, Road To Rome set a strong pace, stretching the field out so much that few got into the race. However, Edwards never let the front-runner get too far out of his sights, and the 7-2 shot, who has won 15 of his last 16 races, took over proceedings in the straight, pulling four lengths clear of Shantou Flyer and jockey David Maxwell, with Top Wood back in third.

Rowley was too busy celebrating with his wife Mel to witness much of the closing stages, but expressed his immense pride in both horse and rider.

He said: "It’s unbelievable, I can’t believe it’s happened. We always liked the horse and thought he had a massive chance. I noticed here here we actually went off favourite, it was a lot of pressure. It gives me a totally different perspective on the race, but the horse did it.

"Alex game him a great ride, very patient and he’s won very easily in the end. I was too busy screaming and jumping up and down, but I saw him jump the last and go clear and I thought they aren’t going to catch him now."

Diana Williams, who owns the horse, gave Rowley the opportunity to train Hazel Hill when her daughter Jane started to move away from point-to-point racing.

He said: "The owner didn’t want to come last year because she thought it was a year too soon, he wasn’t a very experienced horse. This was our target this year. I don't think we'll go to Aintree, but maybe Punchestown."

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