RACE REPORT
THE BROAD smile said it all as Tony McCoy returned to the winner's enclosure for the first time this week after Wichita Lineman justified favouritism in the Brit Insurance Novices' Hurdle.
The champion had ended the previous day tight-lipped after Black Jack Ketchum had deposited him on the turf at the third in the Ladbroke World Hurdle.
And life didn't look too easy at the top of the hill again as Black Harry travelled well and leapt into the lead full of running three out under Ruby Walsh, with McCoy pushing and asking the 11-8 favourite to dig deep.
The leader still looked to be holding the aces between the final two flights but thanks to McCoy's persistence the gap was narrowing when the leader took a crashing fall at the last.
For the first time in the race McCoy wasafforded the luxury of only having to push his horse out and he passed the post 12 lengths clear of his nearest pursuer Air Force One, with 100-1 shot Itsa Legend maintaining Alan King's fine week at the meeting when running into third place.
McCoy said: "I am pleased he has won and would have been disappointed if he had been beaten, as I didn't think he had any flaws in his armoury - but then what right have I to win more than anyone else?" O'Neill answered that question in one fell swoop, saying: "The horse needed him - he's a good horse and tough, but he's lazy, and Tony is the fittest man and best man around."
Whether Wichita Lineman clashes with half-brother Black Jack Ketchum in the Ladbrokes World Hurdle next year will be debated in the confines of Jackdaws Castle, but O'Neill clearly has two top-notchers who have taken the past two runnings of this race.
He added: "We will talk about it, but Wichita Lineman is a good horse once you get him going and he's big enough for chasing.
"Black Jack Ketchum is fine after his fall and was in the field bucking and kicking this morning.
"You'd think someone had died the way some are talking about it. Black Jack was our banker and didn't win and Wichita Lineman has come and done the job."
Charlie Mann had predicted that Air Force One could surprise beforehand and his effort thrilled the trainer.
Mann said: "I have always thought the world of him and Noel (Fehily) said he ran a bit flat today so he could be some horse.
"He's a chaser in the making and he won't run again this season - he will be a Gold Cup horse in two years time."
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