Brungle Bertie caused quite a surprise when he emerged victorious in the $400,000 Grand National Steeplechase held at Ballarat on Sunday.
The eight-year-old, ridden by Lee Horner was considered an outsider with odds of $21 offered up with online bookmakers.
Brungle Bertie dominated with a 5.5 length victory over Bell Ex One ($13), while Castrofrancaru ($15) followed in third, another 1.25 lengths behind.
Unfortunately Stern Idol ($1.30), who was the long odds-on favourite was unable to set up a big lead like he is accustomed to and was pulled up out of the race with 800m still to be run.
2023 Grand National Steeplechase Replay – Brungle Bertie
Trainer Henry Dwyer and owner/breeder Peter Balderstone were overjoyed by the win.
“We said to Peter we could go this whole season without winning a race because he wasn’t going to be competitive in any race until we got to today,” Dwyer explained.
“When the rain didn’t come, we were really, really downbeat, but as it turns out he didn’t need the rain.
“Obviously the favourite didn’t run up to his best, but our bloke was just super.
Ridden by Lee Horner at Ballarat, just as he was during a fourth-place finish in the Crisp Steplechase – a race where he lagged 28 lengths behind Stern Idol – the son of Canford Cliffs found himself needing a new rider due to Richard O’Donoghue’s injury from a fall in July.
Stern Idol faced disappointment in the Grand National, marking the second occasion this season where the heavily favoured horse failed to complete race having been pulled out of the Grand Annual Steeplechase (5500m) at Warrnambool during the Warrnambool May Racing Carnival.
Trainer Ciaron Maher and David Eustace might attribute this downturn to the toll of an extensive racing season.
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