Ireland’s jumps trainers have given their British counterparts a thorough mauling at Cheltenham and Aintree in recent seasons. Their dominance extended to one of the Flat season’s showpiece events for the second year running as Henry de Bromhead’s six-year-old mare Magical Zoe, who finished fourth in the County Hurdle at Cheltenham in March, landed a gamble in the Ebor Handicap after being backed down to 11-2 favourite.
De Bromhead’s success in the £500,000 highlight of the Ebor festival followed a victory in the same race 12 months ago for Willie Mullins, the current champion trainer over jumps in both Britain and Ireland, and Magical Zoe’s backers were counting their winnings from the moment she swept into the lead under Billy Lee with just over a furlong to run. The 25-1 outsiders Kihavah and Oneforthegutter were next over the line, with Epic Poet (10-1) running on for fourth.
