Jungle Boogie proved the toughest of the field in taking the Savills New Year’s Day Chase for Henry de Bromhead at Tramore.
Six contested the Grade Three event run over two miles and seven furlongs on heavy ground and the winner was not especially popular as a 10-1 shot.
Under Darragh O’Keeffe the 10-year-old was headed two out, but as the race neared its conclusion stamina came to the fore and Jungle Boogie displayed plenty to rally and win by a length from Classic Getaway the 2-5 favourite.
The win initiated a big-race double for the De Bromhead team, with Bob Olinger on the scoreboard in the Relkeel Hurdle at Cheltenham.
“He was very good. Henry said to jump out and make the running on him,” O’Keeffe said.
“He jumped very good bar the fence at the top of the hill the first time, he just got under it. I kind of gave him a squeeze and he kind of put down on me.
“Other than that he jumped really well and kept at it well. I’m delighted to win this race, especially after having three seconds earlier on.
“When I saw Danny (Mullins) coming to me, I thought ‘not again!’.
“Thankfully my lad rallied and got back going again. He wasn’t beaten that far the last day against the best of the two-milers in Ireland and he stayed on really well.
“For a horse that wants a trip, he travels really well. I’m delighted to get that with him now and I’m very grateful to connections for giving me the spin on him.
“I said to the lads afterwards that the track was plenty tight for him, as he is a big, big horse. Thankfully he got the job done and it’s a nice race to win.”
Joseph O’Brien’s Boldog was a convincing winner of the David Flynn Construction Maiden Hurdle at 5-1 under J J Slevin.
The six-year-old was a bumper winner for Stuart Crawford and got off the mark at the first opportunity for his new stable with a five-and-a-half-length win.
“Good performance, actually. He coped well with the ground, and his bumper runs were decent enough last year,” Slevin said.
“He’s going to be a staying horse. He was fine until halfway down the back when he took off.
“It was going to be hard for him to win doing that, but he stuck it out well. Joseph is having a great season with his jumpers, and it’s nice to have this one for Simon and Isaac (Munir and Souede, owners).
“Daryl (Jacob, retained rider) is in Cheltenham today so I’m lucky I got to step in.” Bynx (6-1) took the Jimmy Shanahan Memorial Handicap Hurdle for Martin Hassett and Sean Flanagan in a three-and-a-half-length triumph.
“She’s been fierce unlucky. A few times things didn’t go our way, but, as I said to Sean, when in doubt, call on Flanagan. He gave her a masterclass. I know it looks simple but he got the fractions spot-on on that ground,” Hassett said.
“She’d probably win more but she’s hard on herself at home. When she comes racing, she switches off.”
Willie Mullins’ Stoke The Fire made light work of the Ryans Cleaning Services Maiden Hurdle under Danny Mullins as the 5-6 favourite.
A dual-purpose campaigner who was second on the Flat four times in a row last year, the five-year-old has been purchased by Middleham Park Racing and is their first runner with the champion trainer.
His hurdling bow was a great success as he crossed the line 15 lengths ahead of his nearest rival.
“We’ll stoke the fire tonight!” Mullins quipped in relation to the weather conditions.
“He did it well and jumps well for a Flat horse. I was very happy with how he handled that ground for a Flat horse as well. Hopefully it’ll be the start of something.
“It’s Middleham Racing’s first runner for us and I’m not sure where I’m going to go with him now, we’ll see. We’ll get home and plan something for him.
“He’ll probably mix it between hurdles and Flat racing.”
