Despite the victory in the previous race, Rachael Blackmore made a costly mistake at the start of the My Pension Expert Arkle Challenge Trophy Novices’ Chase, giving herself a disadvantage that she wasn’t able to recover from.
Victors in the first race of the day with Slade Steel, Blackmore and trainer Henry de Bromhead were looking to match their result with Quilixios. But as the starting tape was lifted, the jockey thought the race was going to be held for a false start so pulled up the steed.
This caused the pairing to fall far behind the pack, and simply give too much of a head start to the others.
🚀 WHAT A PERFORMANCE!
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) March 12, 2024
Third time lucky at the Cheltenham Festival for Gaelic Warrior who bolts up in the Arkle for Mullins & Townend pic.twitter.com/6ImZmt3gcI
The race was eventually won by Willie Mullin trained favourite Gaelic Warrior, as Paul Townend gathered his first win of the 2024 Cheltenham Festival.
