It was a day to remember for the father/daughter combination of Eugene and Maxine O’Sullivan as they teamed up to land a spectacular victory in the St. James’s Place Foxhunter Challenge Cup at Cheltenham courtesy of It Came To Pass.
The son of Brian Boru was sent off at a 66/1 shot having disappointed on his last two starts between the flags when finishing seventh and pulling up, however the ten-year-old bounced back to form here.
The Sam Duke-trained Marcle Ridge was bounced out to make all and soon had the contenders well stretched out before he was reeled in and headed three fences out by Shantou Flyer.
It Came To Pass was given a very patient ride by Lombardstown native Maxine before making his move and taking the lead two out where he then began to sorm clear of his rivals.
A superb jump at the penultimate fence put the race to bed and the ten-year-old came home in splendid isolation with 10 lengths to spare over fellow pointer and favourite Billaway, providing an Irish win in the race for the first time since 2016.
It was a family affair, as Maxine was greeted by an array of family members including her cousin and fellow amateur rider Mikey O’Sullivan and father Eugene O’Sullivan, who had sent out Lovely Citizen to take the Foxhunter Chase in 1991.
“I’m over the moon. We won this race 29 years ago, with my brother William riding. Sadly my father isn’t with us anymore, but I’m sure he was looking down on us today," said winning training Eugene O'Sullivan.
“I’m over the moon. We won this race 29 years ago, with my brother William riding. Sadly my father isn’t with us anymore, but I’m sure he was looking down on us today," said winning training Eugene O'Sullivan.
“We’ve a great family operation at home, there’s an awful lot of people involved and a lot of hard work.
“Maxine does an awful lot of work and she’s a brilliant girl. She has little faith in herself and her riding, but she is brilliant.”
Winning rider Maxine O'Sullivan said: “He just loved it the whole way and everything went right. I couldn’t have asked for a better run round.
“We knew if he returned to his old form that he would have a serious chance, and he did. He was better today than he’s ever been. We knew he’d stay really well.
“It’s really special for our family. My uncle won it in 1991, my dad trained it and my granddad owned and bred it. Unfortunately my granddad died in the last couple of years, but he’d be so proud.
“This is our Gold Cup. It’s such a family business. It means a lot to us.”
"This is our Gold Cup. I dreamt about winning this but I didn't think it would happen."
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 13, 2020
Winning rider Maxine O'Sullivan reflects on a special Foxhunter victory with It Came To Pass.
Her father, uncle and late grandfather all have history in this race in a poignant success %uD83D%uDC4F pic.twitter.com/tpYw1mJeyX
