Tony McCoy took the most valuable race on the card for the second day running here on Friday as Don Cossack, the 3-1 joint-favourite, recorded an easy success in the Grade One Melling Chase. Unlike the majority of McCoy’s biggest winners, however, the victory was achieved in the purple colours of Michael O’Leary, the chief executive of Ryanair, rather than the green and gold of JP McManus, who has retained McCoy as his principal jockey for the last 10 seasons.
McCoy took the Ryanair Chase aboard McManus’s Uxizandre at the Cheltenham Festival in March with Don Cossack back in third place, but was able to take over on Friday’s winner after Uxizandre was ruled out of a rematch. Bryan Cooper, O’Leary’s principal jockey, is currently suspended for a whip offence at Cheltenham.
“I owe it to Kieren McManus, JP’s son,” McCoy said after Don Cossack’s 26-length defeat of Cue Card. “When we realised earlier in the week that Uxizandre wouldn’t be running, Kieren had a word with Eddie O’Leary [the racing manager to his brother Michael’s string of horses] and that got me the ride.
“Even though we have good competition with Eddie and Michael both here and in Ireland it’s nice to ride one for them. I think I’ve won about five Ryanair Chases so I’ve had plenty of money off Michael. It’s nice to make him a little bit of money today.”
McCoy pulled up aboard Eastlake on his penultimate start over the National fences in the Topham Chase, as Sam Waley-Cohen, the leading amateur rider of recent years, confirmed himself as one of the best of any era over these unique obstacles. Riding Rajdhani Express, Waley-Cohen recorded his sixth victory over the National fences, having previously taken the Fox Hunters’ Chase three times, the Topham once and the Becher Chase at the track’s November meeting last year.
“It’s such a special course,” Waley-Cohen said. “I’m lucky because I get to ride in the Fox Hunters’ so I get a few extra chances but so much depends on the horse. If you can get on the right one you have a magical time over those fences and he was brilliant today. He was so clever and full of courage.”
Waley-Cohen will ride Oscar Time, who he has previously sterred into second and fourth place, in Saturday’s Grand National, but Robbie McNamara, who is booked to ride Lord Windermere, the 2014 Gold Cup winner, could miss the race after he was taken to hospital following a fall at Wexford on Friday.
Wayne Hutchinson, who was stood down for the day after a heavy fall from Balder Succes in the Melling Chase, will need to pass the doctor at Aintree on Saturday morning in order to ride Godsmejudge for Alan King.
