Irish raiders yield to Dell

David Pipe's Dell' Arca won the StanJames.com Greatwood Hurdle on his British debut.

The French import was an unknown quantity to UK punters but they know all about him now after he got up to beat Paul Nicholls' Sametegal in the closing stages.

The four-year-old always travelled well under Tom Scudamore and he responded well to pressure in the closing stages to catch Sametegal up the hill.

Nicholls' runner-up ran a very good race in second with long-time leader Rawnaq third.

Flaxen Flare was fourth for Gordon Elliott.

Pine Creek was hampered by the fall of the prominent Ahyaknowyerself, who also brought down Thomas Edison.

Scudamore said: "What at effort to come and do that first time up. Incredible, just fantastic.

"He'd been pleasing us at home and doing everything right, but it's different to doing it out on the track. I was always very confident after he had jumped two hurdles.

"He's only had three runs before in his life, but he took to that like a duck to water. He was always travelling and jumping well.

"The jump at the last probably won it, but what a brave horse."

Pipe said: "It means a lot to us as this is the second biggest meeting after March.

"He's still a novice and he's only won a handicap off 128 so we will enjoy today. I'm sure he'll get entries in all the big handicaps."

The winning owner Caroline Tisdall is a Professor of Art History at the Courtauld Institute in London, an author of some 13 books and has worked on films for the BBC and Channel 4. She said: "I was very keen on racing as a young woman, but then life and men and work and lack of money got in the way, but now we are back where we started.

"This feeling is indescribable, and to think that jump racing exists in our modern world and health and safety climate is a miracle. I just wanted to join in and keep it going in my own little way. I love the Pipe yard and am very happy there.

"This is the most expensive horse I've bought and I'm not going to make a habit of it, but it was the one occasion when David Pipe had a chance to outbid Willie Mullins at public auction [Mullins was underbidder for Dell' Arca]. After the sale Willie invited us over to Ireland for a stable visit, which was a nice story of its own."

Nicholls said of Sametegal, said: "I knew Dell' Arca was lurking there at the bottom of the weights because we all wanted him at the sales.

"I'm delighted with my horse. He was going to go chasing, but he'll staying over hurdles for something like the Ladbroke."

Matthew Smith, trainer of third-placed Rawnaq, said: "We've always thought a lot of this horse and were expecting a big run from him.

"We thought he'd run a big race in the Galway Hurdle but he came back very sick after that run so we've given him a break since then and he's shown exactly what he can do here.

"They got a bit close on the run-in and maybe he was left in front a little too soon after that horse fell (Ahyaknowyerself) as I think he idled a bit.

"Hopefully he'll come back right and if he does, we'll look at that race at Ascot (The Ladbroke) for him as I think he'll run another big race there."