Made of harder stuff: Marie’s Rock shows grit to land Punchestown Gr.1

Fantastic to win the Mares Champion Hurdle over at @punchestownrace today on Marie’s Rock for @MprUpdates & @sevenbarrows. What a gutsy mare. Well done to all connections and the team at home. 🔵 pic.twitter.com/4Nck2XWJdp

— Nico de Boinville (@NdeBoinville) April 30, 2022

They say form is temporary but class is permanent, which seems apt as Cheltenham winner Marie’s Rock, at 10/1, saw off rivals Stormy Ireland and Epatante. The former looking like she had sneaked away from the others on the home turn only to be reeled back in, with Marie’s Rock outstaying and winning eventually by a length and a quarter.

Trained at Seven Barrows by Nicky Henderson, Marie’s Rock has had notable setbacks, after showing plenty of early promise in her career – and many would say that not only has she been brought back, she’s improved during this time. Paired with Nico De Boinville, these two now seem a formidable act and now follow in the hoofprints of Benie Des Diuex in completing a Cheltenham/Punchestown double.

Owned by a syndicate run by RSA member  Middleham Park Racing, this latest feat of heroics shows just what can be achieved if you follow your dreams and join a well-run syndicate – We the RSA, as the association whose mission is to raise awareness of the importance of syndicates to Horse Racing, hope that televised scenes like those at Punchestown make the task perhaps a bit simpler. With syndicate owned horses repeatedly dining at racing’s top table with luck many of the sport’s key influencers will see the valuable contribution syndicates give to the sport.

Congratulations to her owners from all of us at The RSA and here’s to many more victories to come.

(Picture: Patrick McGann/Racing Post Photos)