Klassical Dream deposed as Stayers' favourite after Royal Kahala causes upset

Thursday: Gowran Park

Entering Royal Kahala for the Paddy Power Stayers' Hurdle at Cheltenham earlier this month might have been an afterthought, but it is starting to look an inspired decision after the seven-year-old produced a resolute performance to land the Grade 2 John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle.

The 9-2 second favourite galloped on strongly under Kevin Sexton after taking up the running from the faltering odds-on favourite Klassical Dream before the second-last, before holding off the persistent challenge of 80-1 shot Home By The Lee. The first two pulled eight lengths clear of Ashdale Bob, with Klassical Dream a disappointing fourth.

The Close Brothers Mares' Hurdle had been presumed to be the Cheltenham target for the winner, but trainer Peter Fahey has a welcome selection conundrum now. He said: "It's a great headache to have! The one thing her owner Oran Creane had said to me was not to be afraid to enter her, and we were wondering whether to enter her in the Stayers' or whether to just stick to the easier Mares' Hurdle route, but we decided that it would have been silly not to enter her in the Stayers' and then go and win the Galmoy! It gives us more options and we will see what happens."

John Mulhern Galmoy Hurdle: full result and race replay

He added: "It was a brilliant performance. She has come back well this year and we were keen to step her up to three miles. Her jumping is a little bit slow and she tends to make the odd mistake over shorter, but she jumped well there.

"Fair play to the Winning Ways Starlet Syndicate for coming to me with a bunch of horses, and Oran goes to the sales every year and buys three or four fillies. They've all done well and I think nearly all of them have won for us. Fingers crossed everything goes well and we can rock on to Cheltenham now. She is ground dependent. She won't run on good ground over there."

Royal Kahala was cut to 5-1 (from 8) for the Mares' Hurdle and to 14-1 (from 25) for the Stayers' Hurdle by BoyleSports, while Klassical Dream was pushed out to 6-1 from 5-2 by the same firm after his lacklustre effort. "It was disappointing, the ground was a bit testing and tacky," said rider Paul Townend.

Mercurey on rise

Owner Rich Ricci had spoken glowingly of Mercurey when interviewed at Haydock last week, but even he must have been surprised at the performance of his newcomer in the bumper.

Trainer Willie Mullins certainly was. Mercurey had the biggest reputation, but he was not the only fancied horse in the race. However, the imposing four-year-old demolished the opposition from the front in a steadily run contest, quickening right away inside the final furlong under Patrick Mullins to beat Tiger Bay Queen by 13 lengths.

Mercurey and Patrick Mullins run out impressive winners of the bumper at Gowran ParkCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

It was no secret that Peter Fahey fancied the runner-up and his bemused expression in the parade ring afterwards showed that he could hardly believe what they ran into.

Paddy Power cut the winner to 5-1 (from 10) for the Weatherbys Champion Bumper, but Mullins poured cold water on that. He said: "He's only four and I'm not sure I want to go to Cheltenham with him. I might possibly prefer to go to the Listed four-year-old bumper at Limerick in March and then look at Punchestown, but I'll discuss it with the owner when he comes to Leopardstown next week."

He added: "He shows me that at home, but that probably exceeded expectations as he was very impressive there. There appear to be a lot of well-fancied horses behind him and he left them for dead after making his own running. He might be even better than we thought.

"He looks a huge prospect to go jumping with. He has the size and scope and is by the right sire in Muthathir."

Uncle strikes for father and son

Conor O'Dwyer never managed to ride the winner of a Thyestes Chase during his career, but the County Kildare trainer knows it is a good day to have a winner and he did just that when landing the 2m handicap hurdle with the Dominic Jones-owned Uncle Gerhard, a victory that was made all the more special as his son Charlie was in the plate, riding his first winner over hurdles.

It looked a most unlikely success as Uncle Gerhard had far more horses in front of him than behind turning in, and did not really appear to be going anywhere.

However, the younger O'Dwyer managed to galvanise enough of an effort out of him to get him to the front after the final flight to hold off the even later effort of The Toothpicker by a length.

Read this next:

These are the Cheltenham Festival hopes to note now NRNB betting is here

Racing Post Live is your ultimate racing watchalong every Saturday and during major festivals. Our experts offer uninterrupted tips, analysis and reactions to the ITV action. Subscribe to the Racing Post YouTube channel here and never miss a minute