Cowper Hall dominant in Fairyhouse Cowper Hall was a very facile winner of Division 1 of the William Hill Challenge Series Handicap Hurdle over an extended two-and-a-half-miles in Fairyhouse for trainer Gavin Cromwell. Eoin Staples clearly knew he had plenty of horse under him as the five-year-old gelding came from well back swinging away in second after the penultimate obstacle. He tanked into the lead before the last and powered clear on the run-in to open up by 13 lengths to the cheers of favourite backers who took the 13/8. Gino Bello ran a creditable race in second at 9/2 and was almost three lengths ahead of Marine Ranger at 18/1. Destivelle came under pressure approaching the straight and could give no more before the last, but came in a remote fourth at 10/1. Race planner Troy Cullen said: “He had been knocking on the door. He’s a grand horse and hopefully he’ll keep on improving after that. “He’s got there a few times before and just hasn’t found as much as we hoped that he would. “Eoin was very good on him today and the step up in trip probably helped him a bit. "Hopefully, the handicapper won’t be too hard on him and he might get another one. “The ground was a slight bit of a worry in my mind, especially stepping up in trip, but he did it well and hopefully he’s going to keep on improving.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson
