Western Fold wins PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park Galway Plate winner Western Fold made light of the step up in class to easily land the featured Grade 2 PWC Champion Chase at Gowran Park. A winner of his last three runs, including the Ballybrit feature off a big weight, the Gordon Elliott trained gelding continued his recent improvement with a commanding performance under Danny Gilligan. Leading over the first six fences, the 5/6f was headed by Rebel Gold at the halfway stage. Content to take a lead, Gilligan tracked the pace, before coming through to regain the initiative after four out. Pushed along after two out, the son of Westerner asserted jumping the last, keeping on well to beat Affordale Fury by four-and-a-quarter lengths. Gordon Elliott said: "He is a good horse, was rated 157 today and is still a novice for the year. He could head to Down Royal for the Champion Chase or we could keep him for the Drinmore (novice). "He loves jumping and Danny gets a good tune out of him. I was going to put Jack (Kennedy, stable jockey) on him but come Down Royal and the Drinmore, Jack will have other horses to ride so I kept the combination together. "We brought him to Ayr one day when he lost his confidence but is back going the right way now. He didn't win until Tipperary in May so is a novice for the whole season, and I don't know if there are as many novices with the experience that he has. "We have loads of options but I was nervous about meeting deep ground here today but when we came here, I was happy to run." Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes.
