Foxrock and Katie Walsh winning the hunter chase© Photo Healy Racing
Foxrock followed up his hunter chase win at Down Royal over Christmas by following up in the same division in the Arctic Tack Stud-sponsored race at Thurles.
Trained by Ted Walsh and ridden by his daughter Katie, the 4/6 favourite made most of the running and kept on strongly from before the last to beat On His Own by two lengths. First Lieutenant dropped away after the penultimate fence to finish a further 28 lengths back in third.
Ted Walsh said, “He did what I expected if he ran up to his mark. He’s a younger horse as the second is now 13 and we are only nine. He doesn’t do a whole lot in front but Katie said he was happy enough in front.
“My horse and First Lientenant were second and third behind Don Poli in the Lexus and that was only 13 months ago.
“Leopardstown next month is the obvious next place for him. He’s not qualified to run at Cheltenham so he might run in the Tetratema (at Gowran) after that, and he’ll have an entry in the English National and the Irish National. If he’s after winning a few hunter chases he would go there in good form.”
Reflecting on possible plans for Any Second Now, he added; “He will be entered in the Grade 1 (Deloitte) at Leopardstown and there is a Grade 2 a fortnight later at Naas. If the connections decide that he is not going to Cheltenham then he will probably wait and run at Naas over two miles. If he is going to Cheltenham then he will run in the Deloitte.
“He gets two miles well. It’s a tight track around the inside at Punchestown but he’s won at Navan, and looking at him you would say he would be better going two and a quarter or two and a half.
“The only thing I’m worried about trip wise is his pedigree as all on the dam side is two miles or two and half with the likes of Native Upmanship and Time For A Run.”
