Road To Respect was cut from 25/1 to 14/1 for the King George at Kempton after he made a winning re-appearance in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.
Noel Meade’s charge was patiently ridden by Sean Flanangan to sit behind the pace-setting Alpha Des Obeaux in the three-miles, and as the race began to take shape climbing to the third-last fence, it was the eight-year-old that loomed as the biggest threat to the favourite Clan Des Obeaux.
Jumping the last upsides, the Gigginstown House Stud-owned eight-year-old dug deep on the run-in to deny Paul Nicholls a fifth success in the race by four lengths.
Third in the Ryanair Chase at last year’s Cheltenham Festival, the chestnut son of Gamut, who was only touched off by a short head in last year’s Irish Gold Cup, began his career by winning a four-year-old maiden at Monksgrange when with Eoin Griffin.
Speaking to RTE Radio One following the success Meade said:
“Paul Carberry actually rode him work twice when Sean was out. We brought him to Punchestown and worked him, and then we brought him to Navan and worked him. The last day he said, ‘spot on, don’t do any more’.
“To be honest, last season got destroyed when he ran on fast ground at Leopardstown.
Everyone kept saying he wants fast ground – he doesn’t, he wants soft ground, and it destroyed his jumping. He didn’t jump in Cheltenham, because he wouldn’t let himself go in the shoulders.
Everyone kept saying he wants fast ground – he doesn’t, he wants soft ground, and it destroyed his jumping. He didn’t jump in Cheltenham, because he wouldn’t let himself go in the shoulders.
“Leopardstown is the obvious place to go again, but we’ll see about the ground – it would have to be easy enough. He’ll definitely be put in the King George. He seems to have straightened out his jumping.
“Michael and Eddie will make plans. Michael has always been keen to stay in Ireland before going to Cheltenham.”
Earlier on the Down Royal card, Envoi Allen extended his unbeaten run to six consecutive starts when he easily made a winning debut over hurdles in the Tayto Group maiden hurdle.
Sent off as the odds-on favourite, the five-year-old made all of the running in the hands of Davy Russell, and he extended clear from the penultimate flight to defeat Front View by six and a half lengths.
The Ballinaboola point-to-point winner now looks set to be targeted at a second Grade 1 prize, with winning trainer Gordon Elliott eyeing up a tilt at the Royal Bond in Fairyhouse next month.
