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Apple Away, a Grade 1 winner over hurdles, added a first chase success when taking a Leicester contest on Wednesday.
The Lucinda Russell-trained mare completed a surprise hat-trick when taking the Grade 1 Sefton Novices' Hurdle at Aintree in April at 16/1, beating the exciting Iroko and Stay Away Fay. She struggled to make an impact on chasing debut when well-beaten behind Grey Dawning at Haydock Park in late November, but appeared a different prospect at Leicester, drawing clear on heavy ground with two fences to jump.
Apple Away is owned by syndicate Old Gold Racing and members are excited about the future for the talented mare.
"We are properly, properly excited about her," said CEO Ed Seyfried.
"It was a three-horse race and you know the old adage, back the outsider in a field of three, but we were looking at a Grade One winner and two Grade Two winners and she put a very good race to bed by 31 lengths – we've got a proper little rocket on our hands.
"She'll stay and stay, we're a syndication business trying to give the experience of owning a racehorse to a much wider population of people and to have a horse as good as this that has people on social media squabbling about whether we should go for the Brown Advisory or the mares' chase – what a wonderful decision to have to make.
"I said that it would give us a huge boost if she could win by 20 lengths but that there was no chance of that. She heard me and over-performed by 50 per cent!
"She's a very, very tough mare, we let the trainers do their jobs and though it wasn't set in stone that she would go chasing this season, I love the fact that she has and I think she's a proper little chaser now. She causes happiness and mirth wherever she goes and I can't wait to see more of it.
"You saw in the Sefton at Aintree that she can run from the front if we want her to, everyone loves a front runner and I think she's just going to grab everyone's hearts.
"In the home straight she jumped into a 30-length lead. She was very careful at Haydock and she was quite careful in the first circuit at Leicester, but by the time the second circuit came around she was fabulous. I loved watching her jump like that.
"It's just fabulous, she is a walking morale booster."
Paddy Power shortened Apple Away 20/1 to 14/1 for both the Browns Advisory Novice Chase and the Mrs Paddy Power Mares' Chase at the Cheltenham Festival in March.
