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Rawnaq on track for Cheltenham
- Updated: October 19, 2016
The Cheltenham Festival dream remains very much alive for Rawnaq following his American Grand National triumph.
Formerly trained in Ireland by first Robbie Hennessy and then Matthew Smith, the nine-year-old was sold to race on the other side of the Atlantic last summer and has proved a shrewd acquisition for Irish-born trainer Cyril Murphy and his principal owner Irvin Naylor.
A major victory over the Willie Mullins-trained pair of Shaneshill and Nichols Canyon in the Grade One Calvin Houghland Iroquois Hurdle in Nashville in May made him eligible for a US$500,000 bonus if he can complete the Brown Advisory Iroquois Cheltenham Challenge by going on to win the World Hurdle at Prestbury Park next March.
He made his first start since that success in America’s biggest jumps race at the weekend and with Ruby Walsh taking over in the saddle from the sidelined Jack Doyle, Rawnaq claimed a narrow victory, much to the delight of his trainer.
Murphy said: “We were thrilled with him. The American Grand National has been the plan for a long …
