Kemboy heading straight for Cheltenham
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 5 Dec 2023
Kemboy is likely to head straight to the Cheltenham Festival following his dramatic success at Fairyhouse on Saturday.
The Willie Mullins-trained six-year-old finished a respectable fifth in the Neptune Investment Management Novices' Hurdle at Prestbury Park last March and made an encouraging start to his career over fences when chasing home the high-class Sutton Place at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day.
He was long odds-on to go one better on his return to the Ratoath circuit and while he gave his supporters a real fright by ploughing through the final fence, with Paul Townend performing a minor miracle to keep the partnership intact, he ultimately won decisively.
Steve Massey, racing manager for the owners the Supreme Horse Racing Club, said: "We were absolutely delighted to see Kemboy get off the mark over fences.
"He jumped really well, apart from the last, obviously. Thankfully Paul stayed on board and it probably shows how much the horse had left in the tank that it didn't really stop his momentum. He picked up again and won well.
"He was only beaten just over nine lengths in the Neptune last year and that was only his third run over hurdles and the fourth run of his life.
"I think we're all keen to go back to Cheltenham with him and we're only six weeks away, so I would think he'll go straight there.
"He's entered in the Arkle, the JLT and the RSA Chase, but the JLT over two-and-a-half would look the obvious race for him."
Kemboy's victory provided the successful syndicate with its 100th winner since its inception six and a half years ago.
Massey added: "Supreme Carolina was our first runner and first winner, at Listowel in September 2011. At the time we had one horse with eight owners and now we have close to 30 horses and 600 owners, based all across the globe.
"It's been absolutely amazing and I have to thank Willie and all his staff at Closutton. Without them, we wouldn't be where we are today.
"In our opinion we've got the best trainer in the business, with the best staff and the best jockeys.
"We've had big winners at the Punchestown Festival and Pique Sous won at Royal Ascot, which was a fantastic day.
"We're still searching for that elusive Cheltenham winner, but hopefully we might get there one day."
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