Willie Mullins' Kilcruit beaten at 1/14 on hurdling debut at Cork by Henry De Bromhead's Largy Debut
The six-year-old finished second in the Champion Bumper at Cheltenham before landing a Grade One at Punchestown; Dysart Diamond did make a winning hurdling debut in the second division of the race
Sunday 5 December 2021 13:13, UK
Top-class bumper performer Kilcruit was beaten into second on his hurdling debut despite being the 1/14 favourite at Cork.
The Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old won three of his four starts in National Hunt Flat races last term, the only defeat coming when beaten by half a length by Sir Gerhard in the Weatherbys Champion Bumper at Cheltenham in March.
He went on to take Grade One glory at Punchestown in April and was duly sent off the 1/14 market leader on his seasonal reappearance in division one of the Follow Us On Instagram Maiden Hurdle.
However, the writing was on the wall when he made a mistake three flights from the finish and victory went to 6/1 chance Largy Debut for trainer Henry De Bromhead and jockey Keith Donoghue.
Sean O'Keeffe took the ride for the first time on Kilcruit and he was to the fore from the outset, keeping Largy Debut and Sharp Focus company in a trio who raced well ahead of the rest of the field.
Largy Debut and Kilcruit had it between them from halfway down the back straight, but the long odds-on favourite was never quite able to get on terms and after the mistake three-out he found precious little for pressure in the straight.
Largy Debut, also making his hurdling debut and reappearing after 631 days off the track, stayed on well to win by 10 lengths, with Kilcruit a laboured second and Sharp Focus (14/1) a further 24 lengths back in third.
Sky Bet reacted by pushing Kilcruit out to 6/1 from 4/1 for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle, while shortening Jonbon to 9/4 from 3/1.
There was a brighter outcome to division two of the same event for Mullins and O'Keeffe, whose Dysart Dynamo won in good style as the 8/13 favourite.
Dysart Dynamo was also a promising bumper horse, winning at Clonmel at Punchestown in the spring, and looks a very smart hurdling recruit based on this evidence.
Sky Bet reacted by making him 10/1 (from 16/1) for the Sky Bet Supreme Novices' Hurdle and 12/1 (from 16/1) for the Ballymore Novices' Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival.
