The Willie Mullins trained Billaway justified favouritism when landing the Bluegrass Horse Feeds Hunters Chase at Down Royal in the hands of Patrick Mullins.
The son of Well Chosen took up the running between the last two fences and pulled six and a half lengths clear of his nearest rival Winged Leader on the run-in.
The John Turner owned gelding was unlucky on his latest start at Fairyhouse last month when making a bad mistake at the final fence and leaving the Enda Bolger trained Stand Up And Fight to come home in front.
Nine of the ten runners who went to post completed with Ringneill the only horse failing to complete when pulling up two fences from home.
Winning rider Patrick Mullins told RacingTV; ‘The way the hunters chase programme is laid out, the horses have no choice but to meet and it provided a great spectacle today. My horse has really improved, he blew up the last day and his mistake at the last cost him the race.’
‘He hit a flat spot today which wasn’t like him but his jumping today was a lot slicker, last year you had get after him on landing, he is a lot sharper this year which should help in Cheltenham.’
‘He will go for the Hunters Chase at the end of January at Thurles and then it’ll be back to Cheltenham for the Foxhounters.’
Billaway - second in last season's Cheltenham Foxhunter, off the mark for this campaign for Willie and Patrick Mullins %uD83D%uDC4D @Downroyal pic.twitter.com/ZgQcZJAGG8
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) December 17, 2020
