He may have been a Grade 1 winner in his time, but that was his last win and it came over two years ago now, so it wasn't any great surprise to see Follow The Plan go off a 25/1 chance (from 50s) for the Grade 2 Matty Ryan Memorial Kinloch Brae Chase, a price he defied at Thurles under a confident Paddy Mangan ride.
With Glencove Marina and Psycho performing well below par, the way was left clear for something else to step up to the mark. Roberto Goldback Newmill and J'y Vole battled it out down the straight but Follow The Plan was making ground in behind. Around the bypassed last (Mossbank fell there with a circuit to run and Davy Russell was being attended to) Mangan began to unleash Follow The Plan, he nipped up the rail on the inside of Roberto Goldback and ended up prevailing by a neck.
Winning trainer Oliver McKiernan said: "I wasn't expecting that but sure that makes it all the sweeter. The ground wouldn't have really suited him and maybe it was just that some of the fancied horses didn't run up to form.
"He had leg trouble in the past and he came back from Cheltenham (in 2009) a wreck. We gave him plenty of time off after that and he got a lovely ride from Paddy there.
"He was a bit sticky at a few fences over on the far side but he came home like a train. We were held up badly during the cold snap and he probably came on from his last run."
This was a great success for Mangan in the Red Gap Partnership's silks given the bad fall he got at the first fence from the same connections Whatuthink in the Becher Chase back in November.
Meanwhile Davy Russell missed the ride on For Bill in the following race after being shaken up from a kick he received from Mossbank in a fall at the final fence with a circuit left to travel.
