O'Neill and McLernon win Paddy Power Johns Spirit just held off the luckless Colour Squadron to win the Paddy Power Gold Cup at Cheltenham. With Easter Meteor and Hidden Cyclone taking turns to cut out a generous early gallop as they exchanged some prodigious leaps down the back straight, the pace saw the field thinned out from a relatively early stage. But Richie McLernon was always travelling sweetly aboard the winner and brought him through to sit on the heels of the leaders coming down the hill. The £150,000 race changed complexion at the second-last fence when Easter Meteor, still just in front, hit the top of the obstacle and crumpled to the ground forcing Colour Squadron to sidestep and lose valuable momentum. The fall left John's Spirit in front, but although the 7/1 chance winged the last, he began to idle on the final climb to the line and Colour Squadron (12/1), who had by now regained momentum, started to close in rapidly. Three-quarters of a length was the winning margin but he was clinging on by the time the winning post arrived. Hidden Cyclone (20/1) was just a length and a half back in a creditable fourth, with Attaglance (16/1) fourth and Rajdhani Express fifth for each-way punters with Sky Bet. Winning trainer Jonjo O'Neill joked that he "wouldn't be in the good books of the landlord", with JP McManus - who owns the Jackdaws Castle complex from where O'Neill trains - represented by the Philip Hobbs-trained runner-up. "We made a plan and the plan worked perfectly - it's not often you can say that in racing," added O'Neill. "I'm delighted for Richie. He's a magic man, brilliant to have in the yard, and someone for the other lads to look up to." "Just after the last the old petrol gauge started to go, but he stuck his neck out and battled," added McLernon. "Mr O'Neill filled me with a lot of confidence and prepared the horse beautifully. "This is massive to me. I've only got one ride today and that says it all about how hard it is to get rides and how lucky I am to have the support of Mr O'Neill."
