The Alan King-trained Yanworth made the decision to head for the G1 Champion Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival look folly as he produced a game display to land the G1 Ryanair Stayers Liverpool Hurdle over three miles at Aintree on Saturday.
Ridden by Barry Geraghty, the eight-year-old son of Norse Dancer travelled well throughout the contest, jumping slickly and always looking comfortable under J P McManus’ retained rider.
The gelding made stealthy headway entering the home straight to challenge for the lead and produced a good leap at the last to fend off the challenge of Supasundae to land the Grade One.
This was big performance from Yanworth as it highlighted that connections may have been better suited by targeting the gelding at three mile Grade One honours this season, a plan originally thought up at the start of the term before Unowhatimeanharry, also owned by McManus, emerged on the scene, instead of pursuing two mile trips with King’s charge which were evidently too sharp a test of stamina.
However, King was pleased with how things worked out and he said:
I am relieved more than anything. I am delighted with him. We hoped three miles would suit but he had never been that far before. It was a long run-in and he has pulled it out. He won a Christmas Hurdle and a Kingwell, so we had to go [to the] Champion Hurdle but it didn’t work. It was a brave call, going straight to three miles from two miles. I wasn’t confident today, I must admit, but we got away it.
Winning rider Barry Geraghty, registering his third victory of the week at the Randox Health Grand National, remarked:
Yanworth fumbled the third last. I just didn’t want to commit because I didn’t want to land in front and he made a mess of it. He recovered quickly and was good at the last.
Maybe the trip found him out in Cheltenham but I would say he is better than that. He probably underperformed as he got very warm beforehand. He is a middle-distance stayer really – this a lovely race to win.
