Pyke picks up 'prestigious' Clonmel Oil Kappa Jy Pyke stepped up to the mark to run out a cosy winner of the Clonmel Oil Chase this afternoon. With star stablemate Il Etait Temps withdrawn from the Grade 2 feature the Masked Marvel gelding went to post a 2/9 shot in his absence. Paul Townend took over the mount and made all on the hotpot in the two-and-a-half mile contest. He had his rivals at work early in the straight and a fine leap at the last settled matters as Kappa Jy Pyke went on to beat Herja by a length-and-three-quarters. It was a fifth straight win in the race for trainer Willie Mullins and his 11th overall. Patrick Mullins said afterwards:- "He is a top class horse who beat Salvator Mundi last year and also finished second in the WillowWarm Gold Cup. “The Clonmel Oil is a prestigious race and worth a lot of money so it is brilliant for the owners Michele and Richard (Varmen), who are from England and this is their only horse. "They hacked around, sprinted up the straight and any mistake at the last two fences would have meant 'curtains' but he was brave and jumped very well. He didn't get a hard race so it is job done.  "He can be versatile trip-wise going forward. "Il Etait Temps came down today but Paul walked around and felt it was better to be safe than sorry. Having two top-class horses taking each other on would mean that they would be racing harder, so there is that side to it as well. "He could go to Sandown now but that could also prove to be too quick for Il Etait Temps, so we'll wait and see. The Hilly Way Chase is also there but Majborough could run there, so it will be a Willie decision." Regarding Dinoblue's withdrawal, he added:- "JP (McManus) felt we didn't need to take a chance in running Dinoblue and obviously all roads lead to Cheltenham with her, so there is no major rush to get her out. "It is been an abnormally dry summer and autumn, and as my grandfather (Paddy Mullins) would say, 'you can wait a month for ground or a year for 'a leg'. “At this stage of the season, is there any point in taking a chance so, if you're in doubt, pull out." (Quotes by Tom Weekes)
