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Buck's achieves World domination
16:45, Mar 18 2010
Big Buck's won back-to-back renewals of the Ladbrokes World Hurdle at the Cheltenham Festival in effortless fashion under Ruby Walsh.
War Of Attrition made most of the running, but Time For Rupert took over turning into the straight, although Walsh could be seen travelling ominously well on the 5-6 favourite.
The Festival's winning-most jockey had a leisurely look around for dangers but they were non-existent, and after a slightly scrappy jump at the last, Big Buck's was pushed out with hands and heels to win by three and a quarter lengths.
Walsh said: "He's a special horse and he's absolutely bolted in. He's a horse that doesn't want to be in front too long and he's got a terrific engine. That was a good round of jumping. He jumped better than he ever has done."
Trainer Paul Nicholls added: "He's a hugely talented horse. It's unbelievable. I worked the horses on Saturday morning - Poquelin, Master Minded, Kauto Star, the lot. They all worked well, but he worked like a hairy goat.
"That's just him. I lost confidence a bit and I was sweating beforehand. We were keen to get him fresh and you have to get into his head a bit more than anything. He's very good and he never hit a flat spot."
Owner Andy Stewart said: "It's fantastic for us. He never came off the bridle and there were some very good horses behind us."
Paul Webber, trainer of the runner-up, commented: "Absolutely no excuses - he's run a cracking race and it's a thrill to get that close to Big Buck's. William (Kennedy) has given him a copybook ride.
"He's always given us the impression that he would improve by 7lb or 8lb from his previous run, which he has achieved, but we are still 7lb short of Big Buck's. If he's OK, I would be keen to go to Liverpool with him."
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