By BBC (Sports) | Created at 2024-12-29 15:26:45 | Updated at 2025-01-01 13:30:07
2 days ago
Brighterdaysahead earned a thumping 30-length victory over last season's Champion Hurdle winner State Man in landing the Neville Hotels Hurdle on the final day of the Leopardstown Christmas Festival.
State Man had been a 4-9 favourite to avenge his narrow defeat by the Gordon Elliott-trained mare at Punchestown last month and earn a third successive win in the big Leopardstown hurdle.
But the race turned into a no contest as 5-2 shot Brighterdaysahead followed her pacemaker stablemate King of Kingsfield over the opening mile with the Willie Mullins-trained favourite already close to a dozen lengths adrift in third spot.
Brighterdaysahead, ridden by Sam Ewing because of Jack Kennedy's injury-enforced absence, moved into the lead just before the penultimate hurdle and, despite a slightly untidy jump at the last, went on to extend her advantage as State Man was pipped for the runner-up spot by 66-1 shot Winter Fog.
The victory gave Elliott his 100th Grade One triumph after earlier saddling his 2,000th Irish National Hunt winner.
