Concorde Wings In For Deserved Big Race Success

Dermot Weld’s Majestic Concorde put up a tremendous weight-carrying performance to land the valuable PP Chase at Leopardstown on Wednesday and finally gain due reward for some fine efforts under both codes over the last 12 months, writes Elliot Slater.

Cheltenham gold cup betting pundits note that the seven-year-old humped 11st 9lbs and got the better of 27 rivals to land the £94,513 winners’ cheque, taking up the running four from home under his amateur rider Robbie McNamara, and then staying-on bravely on the run from the last to deny Nina Carberry aboard Noel Glynn’s Becauseicouldntsee by two-and-a-half lengths, with Pomme Tiepy a further six lengths back in third.

Beaten only a length into fourth in a blanket finish for the Chester Cup on the Flat in May on his seasonal debut, the Definite Article gelding (who seems to go best when fresh), was next seen at the end of July at Galway, where in a change of codes he ran another cracker to finishing a highly respectable third to Finger Onthepulse in the Galway Chase. A couple of below-par runs in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket and then the Leopardstown November Handicap were probably the reason that this classy performer was sent off at the staggering price of 33/1 for Wednesday’s race, odds that are unlikely to be offered quite so freely again for Weld’s charge any time soon.

Although no firm plans have been made for his next outing, it is quite possible that Majestic Concorde will bypass Cheltenham and bid again for the Chester Cup in May, but whether or not he will be seen again before then over jumps depends very much on the opinion of the winning owner Dr Lambe and the drawing up of yet another Weld master plan.