"We'll be getting booed all the way to the hotel!" joked Sam Twiston-Davies after he rode Clan Des Obeaux to victory in the Ladbrokes Punchestown Gold Cup on Wednesday evening.
The English raider, trained by Paul Nicholls, beat favourite and two-time Cheltenham Gold Cup winner Al Boum Photo in a battle down the home straight.
"An Irish Gold Cup," the jockey told RTÉ, "it's a bit childish but it is the stuff that dreams are made of. To come over here and do it like that, to be aggressive everywhere. You are always a little bit wary because I didn't know the track that well."
"An Irish Gold Cup... It is the stuff that dreams are made of to come over here and do it like that," says Sam Twiston-Davies, who rode raider Clan Des Obeaux to victory at Punchestown | Watch #PTown21 live https://t.co/AZlEpmDpcs pic.twitter.com/WWHR3w1CdW
— RTÉ Racing (@RTEracing) April 28, 2021
It is Nicholls's third victory in the race.
"If Paul Nicholls is listening to us, [he gets] 10 out of 10," said Ted Walsh.
"He's come to the lion's den. They got a hiding in Cheltenham that they'll probably never get over. Still, he packed up the box and came over here, took us on in our own backyard, and beat our best horse, Al Boum Photo.
"It's a great result for the English trainers, a wonderful result for Paul Nicholls. Bravery beyond doubt to come here. Most people would have said, 'Jesus, what's he going to Ireland for? They can't beat them in their own home town, how's he going to beat them in their own backyard?'
"Full marks to Sam Twiston-Davies. That was a real gutsy ride."
See Also: Monstrous Chacun Pour Soi Demolishes Punchestown Opposition
