Rocky’s Diamond could round off his excellent season at the Punchestown Festival after finishing fourth in the Stayers’ Hurdle at Cheltenham.
Declan Queally’s stable star has come a long way since landing a handicap hurdle at Gowran Park in early October, going on to finish third as a 66-1 shot for a Grade One at Leopardstown over Christmas before proving that effort was no fluke with a Grade Two win in the Galmoy Hurdle at Gowran Park.
Rocky’s Diamond was a 28-1 shot for the day three feature at Prestbury Park last week and ran a fine race to finish fourth, beaten just over 10 lengths by the winner Bob Olinger.
Queally said: “He’s come back from Cheltenham in good form and it was a hell of a run for a five-year-old, we were delighted with him.
“He’ll probably go to Punchestown and that’d be it I’d say (for the season). I don’t think we’ll go to Aintree, I’m just hoping we might get a bit of rain in April/May and Punchestown will come up safe, but if the ground is too good, we might not even run.
“It’s been a crazy season with him, but he’s done nothing but improve and if he can get a bit stronger with a summer’s grass, he could be a very good horse next year.”
Whether Rocky’s Diamond will stick to long-distance hurdles or pursue a career over fences next season is yet to be decided, with Queally adding: “We’ll have to make a decision on whether we go novice chasing or stick to the staying hurdle route and I honestly don’t know which way we’ll go, to be honest.
“I’ll have to speak to his owner and it will be his call I’d say.”