'I loved the way he picked up' - birthday double for Henry de Bromhead as classy Heart Wood earns Grade 1 target

Henry de Bromhead celebrated his birthday with a smart winner when the classy Heart Wood cruised to victory in the Listed 2m7f chase. 

The lightly raced six-year-old faced just two rivals on his seasonal debut and scored easily under Darragh O'Keeffe, pulling seven lengths clear of Corbetts Cross, with Buddy One finishing a further ten lengths back in third.

A return to Grade 1 company is now on the cards for the promising Robcour-owned gelding, who was a wide-margin winner of a Grade 3 handicap in February before finishing third in the Mildmay Novices' Chase when last seen.

"I'm delighted with him. Darragh did great and I thought he did everything right," De Bromhead told Racing TV. "His jumping was a little sticky at the start, but he certainly warmed up to it and I loved the way he picked up – he looked great. 

"He's definitely pacey, but I wouldn't want to discount three miles just on his Aintree run – we'll have a look at it again. We think he's still eligible for the Drinmore, so if he is we'll have a look at that. He's still a young horse – he could keep improving."

The success was a fifth win for O'Keeffe since Saturday and kicked off a double for De Bromhead, whose Inthepocket landed the following 2m beginners' chase. 

The JP McManus-owned runner was a Grade 1 winner over hurdles and scored on his second attempt over fences, having been last seen almost a year ago when second to Facile Vega at Navan.

In The Pocket: Grade 1 scorer off the mark over fencesCredit: Patrick McCann

De Bromhead added: "He was really good. I thought he was so quick at the first two, and Mark [Walsh] was brilliant on him. He's got a big engine, so we've just got to try to keep him right and see where we end up. 

"Mark said he was a bit left the whole way, so I'm just not so sure about the Drinmore. We'll look at our options."

Stokes success

Miss Maxfort defied odds of 16-1 to claim her first success in the 2m½f maiden hurdle under David Doyle. 

The four-year-old filly was second on her debut at Clonmel in May but shone on her seasonal return to come home two and a half lengths clear of Balko D'Ange. 

Her victory was the first rules success since June last year and a first over jumps since 2010 for trainer Nicky Stokes.

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