Pointers on Track
Ex-pointers continue to flourish in Graded company
A winner of a four-year old maiden at Boulta in 2016, the ex Eugene O'Sullivan-trained Chris's Dream (pictured) built on his Troytown Chase success in late November to take the Grade 2 Red Mills Chase at Gowran on Saturday afternoon.
Now trained by Henry De Bromhead in Co. Waterford, the son of Mahler made every post a winning one, leading from the drop of the flag, before going on to secure a two-and-a-quarter length success over the Gordon Elliott-trained Shattered Love.
Owned by Robcour, Chris's Dream holds an entry in both the Grade 1 Ryanair Chase and the Gold Cup next month at the Cheltenham Festival, along with an entry in the Aintree Grand National in April, where he was given a weight of 11 stone last week.
Meanwhile at Navan on Sunday afternoon, the feature chase event was the Grade 2 Ten Up Novice Chase, which was won last year by the aforementioned Chris's Dream.
This year's renewal of the novice event saw a field of six go to post, and it was the Dermot McLoughlin-trained Captain Cj that came out on top, securing a comfortable six-length victory over Elwood.
The son of Westerner was a three-time point-to-point winner for handler Patrick Magee where he won a six-year-old and upwards geldings' maiden at Oldtown in February 2017, before building on that success a month later taking a winner-of-one contest at Kirkistown.
He then took a winner-of-two at Loughanmore the following October in comprehensive fashion, before falling two-out when travelling well in a winner-of-three contest at Portrush just two weeks later, and then changed hands to Dermot McLoughlin, where he had been a model of consistency prior to Sunday's success.