'This really puts a shine on it' - Davy Russell announces second retirement following victory on Irish Point

Davy Russell made sure his final day in the saddle included a Grade 1 success when Irish Point captured the Turners Mersey Novices' Hurdle. 

He announced afterwards he would quit again after riding in the Grand National and then the bumper.  

“This will be my last day," he said. "I’m 43 years of age and Jack Kennedy was waiting to take over the mantle, then unfortunately Jack got injured. Sam [Ewing] and Jordan [Gainford] were there, but we just felt we’d ease them in rather than just land it on them. If they had as bad a Cheltenham as I had, I’m not sure they’d have taken it as well as I did. It served its purpose.“

The dual National-winning rider paid full tribute to trainer Gordon Elliott after Gerri Colombe's victory on Friday gave him handsome reward for continuing his temporary comeback. Some 24 hours later he revealed the important part his wife had played in getting him to carry on, having drawn a blank at the Cheltenham Festival when returning from retirement to help his former trainer who was suffering an injury crisis among his jockeys.

Davy Russell celebrates crossing the line for his final Grade 1 winCredit: GROSSICK RACING

"My wife was very upset after Cheltenham," he said. "Her dad passed away recently and she stressed with me that I needed to get back in and not finish on the note that I finished on. Then Gordon jumped in as well. The two of them made it very comfortable for me.

"I was happy enough to finish after Cheltenham, I'm big enough to accept it. I'm lucky I can go back in the years and remember them, but this really puts a shine on the trophy. Aintree is a marvellous place and these big winners are hard to come by, so let's enjoy them while they are here."  

Irish Point had been a close second to subsequent Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner Marine Nationale at Fairyhouse in December but missed the Cheltenham Festival, landing a Grade 3 at Naas instead.

"In the early part of the year he was very immature and I'd say those early races might have caught up with him," Russell said. "If you had to keep going to prepare him for Cheltenham, it might have just emptied the tank, so they stopped, rebuilt it, got a huge confidence-booster at Naas and then he came here back to the form he was in at Fairyhouse.

"He could be anything; today he seemed to have come of age. He stays well and jumps fantastically." 

Change of luck for Skelton

"We got all the bad luck out of the way!" joked Dan Skelton, as he finally got off the mark at the Grand National meeting with West Balboa in the 3m½f handicap hurdle.

The trainer had failed to win with 13 previous runners over the three days with Calico, who was in second place when coming down at the last in the opening Maghull Novices' Chase, one of three fallers among them.

Harry Skelton performs his trademark celebration on West BalboaCredit: GROSSICK RACING

When someone suggested that five-length winner West Balboa was mustard here, Skelton replied: "There hadn't been much mustard spread before this. We've ridden our bad luck all meeting. We've had a few fallers and nothing's gone well. But that's the nature of sport, you've got to keep your head up and keep going."

West Balboa had been kept fresh since landing the 2m5f Lanzarote Hurdle at Kempton in January.

"You're in a lucky position when you've got a big team because you've always got a horse to run," Skelton said. "She was a fresh horse and that counts for an awful lot. She looked fabulous today and the step up to three miles was always going to be a positive.

"We always knew we had a very good mare on our hands; the Lanzarote proved that. You have to know when to hold your hand and when to play it, and I wasn't ever going to overplay this year."

Skelton and brother Harry then completed a double when Midnight River won the 3m chase. The trainer said: "He's always had high-class potential. Next season he'll have one run, then it will be the Coral Gold Cup at Newbury."

Florida delivers

The ups and downs of ownership were starkly highlighted in the final two races of the meeting for Jimmy Fyffe.

Fyffe lost his 2021 Becher Chase second Hill Sixteen in the Grand National, but he was successful in the concluding Grade 2 bumper with the Nicky Richards-trained Florida Dreams.

Winning rider Danny McMenamin said: "It was a rough race but he was very tough. He has the speed for this trip but stays well and there's plenty of options for him. He's a really nice horse to go hurdling next season."

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