Five years on from Band Of Outlaws’ victory in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle, Lark In The Mornin delivered a second success in the race for trainer Joseph O’Brien and jockey J J Slevin.
A juvenile maiden winner on the Flat for his trainer in September 2022, Lark In The Mornin showed promise when runner-up on hurdling debut at Punchestown in November. He subsequently posted a competitive sixth and third in large-field maiden hurdles and came into the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle on a British mark of 122.
Ridden quietly by J J Slevin, the four-year-old was able to avoid various jumping errors of his counterparts in the early stages of the race and loomed large as the field rounded the final turn. Whilst stamina had been an issue for many across the course of the day, Lark In The Mornin was unphased by the Cheltenham hill and comfortable defeated Eagles Reign by two lengths, with Ndaawi back in third.
In a post-race interview, O'Brien said: "We were very worried about the rain, as we had a pretty strong view that he wanted better ground to be seen to best effect, but I thought that 'JJ' gave him a fantastic ride and found the best of the ground all the way around. He had plenty in the locker jumping the last, then pricked his ears.
"We thought that he was coming here with a real live chance, but so much rain fell last night that we had a conversation about whether we'd run or not. Luckily we did, and he seemed to handle it.
"I'm delighted for Sean, for Paddy and for Bernadine, and for JJ to have a winner here this week. It's very special."
Rider J J Slevin said: "Obviously he kind of got stuck in the ground at home all winter and probably didn't perform to his best, so we were worried coming here. But I got a spin around on Colonel Mustard earlier and thought it didn't ride as bad as it walked. We had to let him take his chance after that.
"Joseph did say to me, 'be patient and maybe try to grab some fresh ground', which is what I tried to do.
"Joseph has plenty of quality in his yard and he does a good job with them [his fairly small team of jumpers], so when he has the right one, he sends them over.
"I thought the chase track rode slower than the hurdle track, so we just have to hope [ahead of Bambridge's run in the Ryanair Chase on Thursday] that it doesn't rain too much."
In the closing race on the card, the Grade 2 National Hunt Challenge Cup, the Emmet Mullins-trained Corbetts Cross gave owner J P McManus a first victory on the board in the well-known green and gold silks.
The gelding was firmly in contention when falling in last year's Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle at the Festival and has since made a successful transition to chasing, including a victory at Fairyhouse in December. Despite falling at the same track in early February, Corbetts Cross produced a sound round of jumping in the three mile five furlong contest. Ridden by Derek O'Connor, he hit the front at the second-last and never needed to hit top gear, drawing clear at the line.
Paddy Power reacted by making Corbetts Cross a 25/1 shot for next year's Gold Cup.
