RACHAEL BLACKMORE suffered a nasty shock on her return from an awful neck injury - when she was turned over on odds-on fav Slade Steel. The trailblazing former Grand National winner has needed three months to recover from a fall at Downpatrick. She had an exciting ride to come back to Naas on Monday, though, getting the leg up on last season's Supreme Novices' Hurdle winner.
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SIGN UP NOW. 18+ Ts and Cs apply. First month membership £1, then £3 per month unless you cancel at least 7 days before your next billing date. For more information contact help@thesun.co.uk. The Henry de Bromhead-trained Slade Steel was fancied by punters too and sent off 8-15 fav.
He jumped well in the main in the 2m4f beginners' chase but it was old foe Paul Townend and trainer Willie Mullins who came out on top. The duo's Lecky Watson looked a different horse over fences and dug in deep after the last to win at 100-30. Blackmore is easing her way back into racing with just one more ride on the card.
But she will hope to be fully fighting fit for the manic racing schedule after Christmas. De Bromhead is likely to send out a load of his top stars at Leopardstown and possibly Britain, with Blackmore his No1 jockey. The pair teamed up to land the Gold Cup and Grand National in 2021 and the Irish handler has another strong squad of horses for this year.
