7-2F Might Bite wins the RSA Novices’ Chase in dramatic fashion from Whisper after swerving his way up the hill #TheFestival pic.twitter.com/ru1YpTykVL
— Racing UK (@Racing_UK) March 15, 2017
Might Bite is undoubtedly one of the most talented chasers in the world and he proved it and a bit overnight at the Cheltenham Festival when leading all the way in the RSA Novices’ Chase. He put a gap of 20 lengths on the field heading into the straight.
But it all seemed to come undone for the $4.80 favourite as he cleared the last fence safely and jockey Nico de Boinville hit him with the whip, he heard the crowd cheering and decided to take a detour to find his misses in the crowd, put a bet on and pick-up a beer to give the opposition a chance.
In the past, Might Bite has shown a bit of resistance having unseated previous jockey D A Jacob at the last fence when 20L clear and he seemed determinte to throw away another Group 1.
But it wasn’t just the brilliance of Nico de Boinville onboard that got him going again, or the horse wanting to keep going to the line, it was the absolute luck that the only riderless horse still involved in the event followed Might Bite to the stands side and past him.
Might Bite saw the riderless horse charge right past him and almost on instinct, started to obey the commands of Nico de Boinville and dug in for the fight. Not only did he rejoin the race, but he showed an incredible turn of foot to pick up over those final 100m and to win in a tight photo.
Simply brilliant. This is why we love racing.
