IT was more heartbreak for Derrylin trainer David Christie at the Cheltenham Festival last week as his much-fancied runner Ferns Lock ruined his chances before a fence had even been jumped.
Christie had two runners – Ferns Lock and Ramilles – in last Friday’s St James’s Place Festival Challenge Cup Open Hunters’ Chase, with stable star Ferns Lock a 100/30 second favourite.
But any hopes Christie had of breaking his duck at the Prestbury Park course soon disappeared at the start.
Ferns Lock got very stirred up beforehand, veering off before the start of the race and ruining his chances of winning.
“He used up too much energy at the start due to being upset by the noise of the crowd, so we knew our fate even before the race started,” Christie said.
Ferns Lock finally calmed down enough to start and was soon in the lead. At the halfway stage, he was still leading, but the same could not be said for Ramillies who was last and soon was pulled up.
Meanwhile, Ferns Lock was still in front turning into the home straight but faded out of contention to finish well beaten after what was a huge stamina test in heavy underfoot conditions.
“We’ll now be aiming them for the Aintree or Punchestown Festivals. Hopefully, Ferns Lock will have learned from the experience and will be more relaxed next time,” Christie said.
It was more Cheltenham pain for the Derrylin trainer after Winged Leader was edged out by Billaway in the race in 2022, while last year he saddled 9/4 favourite Vaucelet to finish seventh in it.
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