Image © Healy Racing
Con’s Roc claimed a number of notable scalps as he posted an exhibition of jumping en route to claiming the Masterchefs 2025 Maiden Hunter Chase, on the final day of the Limerick Christmas festival.
Con’s Roc claimed a number of notable scalps as he posted an exhibition of jumping en route to claiming the Masterchefs 2025 Maiden Hunter Chase, on the final day of the Limerick Christmas festival.
Absent since finishing alone in a winners-of-one event at Ballyknock in late March, the Terence O’Brien-trained seven-year-old was always to the fore as the short-priced favourite Rocky’s Howya took the field along in the extended 2m6f contest.
That pacesetting former champion point-to-pointer was outjumped by Darragh Allen’s mount at a number of obstacles, and he was overtaken by both Con’s Roc and Willitgoahead early in the home straight.
That pair jumped the penultimate fence as one, and although Sean Doyle’s Willitgoahead travelled strongly into the race in an effort to win a fifth race in 2024, he was ultimately outstayed on the run-in, with Con’s Roc powering clear inside the final 100 yards to win going away by three and a quarter lengths.
The well-supported West Of Carrig came through to take third at the expense of Rocky’s Howya who weakened into fourth.
The victory was a third in the career of the lightly-raced Con’s Roc, who missed 14 months between his first and second runs but has now run up a sequence of three consecutive victories.
“He was excellent, we always thought plenty of him, but he has had his few injuries,” winning rider Darragh Allen said.
“In fairness it was a good training performance because he had not run since last Easter, so to have him spot on for the day was brilliant.
“There were a couple of good horses in that like Rocky’s Howya and a few others, but look we think he is good, so hopefully we might get a crack at a couple of big hunter chases for the rest of the season.
“He was always a natural jumper and you could see he was taking two lengths out of them at a lot of the fences, he just seems a real natural and loves it. Even when he is wrong he will quicken down to it.
“I have four uncles involved in the syndicate so it means a lot to get that job done.”
Winning Cork trainer Terence O’Brien indicated that Con’s Roc would now be aimed at the St. James’s Place Festival Hunter Chase at the Cheltenham festival, with Con’s Roc likely to run just once more between now and March.
