Sir Geno put in a scintillating display to beat Ballyburn in a much-anticipated encounter in the Ladbrokes Wayward Lad Novices’ Chase at Kempton Park.
For the second time in two days, the second-tier competition witnessed an exciting clash between two powerhouse stars in Nicky Henderson and Willie Mullins.
As was the case in the Christmas Hurdle, in which Constitution Hill beat Lossiemouth, top prizes went to Seven Barrows – and in a way too.
Sir Gino, who was so impressive when deputizing for Constitution Hill in the fifth hurdle fight at Newcastle on his next seasonal appearance, was the well-supported 13/8 favorite to make a successful debut over the bigger hurdles under Nico de Boinville.
Ballyburn, a three-time Grade 1-winning novice hurdler last season who was near perfect on his chasing debut at Punchestown last month, was a 7/4 chance in the hands of Paul Townend.
The big two dominated most of the two-mile race, with Ballybourne dominating at the start before de Boinville gave a head to Sir Gino and allowed him to take the lead in the race down the back straight.
Ballyburn did his best to stay in the race, but Sir Geno continued to come out on top in the jumping stakes and found equipment that Ballyburn could not live with shortly after his home turn.
Sir Gino was in a safe position to race provided he cleared the final fence safely and he did just that to gain a very impressive seven-and-a-half-length reign.
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