Sheehan celebrates maiden Cheltenham victory as McCoy ends winning wait

Tony McCoy - Cropped

There was a stark contrast in two of the main winners at Cheltenham on Thursday as Gavin Sheehan and veteran Tony McCoy rode to victory in the World Hurdle and the Ryanair Chase respectively.

Sheehan picked up his first Cheltenham win on Cole Harden in the day's big race after McCoy, the most successful jump jockey in history, also masterminded another impressive frontrunning show on Uxizandre to get the first victory of his final festival.

The Warren Greatrex-owned Cole Harden was able to dominate from the front, as third-placed Zarkandar - among the pre-race favourites - clipped the penultimate jump when fifth to effectively seal Sheehan's win.

"It's very special," Sheehan told Channel 4.

"You can't get them right all the time and he gave me an exceptional ride. He was very quick and did everything right.

"I was very nervous coming down the hill but I thought should I send him or not.

"Coming up to the line, it means everything." 

Shortly before, McCoy - who will retire at the end of the season - got up and running at his farewell festival on the Alan King-trained Uxizandre.

Last year's JLT Novices' Chase runner-up proved too strong for the rest of the field and never looked as though he would relinquish his early lead.

A number of huge leaps saw him finish five lengths clear and ensure McCoy would have something to show for his farewell festival.

He saw off Ma Filleule into second while favourite Don Cossack was edged back into third.

"He ran away from me for a mile and a half and I was worried whether he would have the stamina to see it out," McCoy told William Hill Racing Radio.

"But he jumped fantastically and kept moving forward. That got a lot of the others in trouble trying to keep up with him.

"I'm obviously really happy, I'm not going to miss riding until this time next year. I'm just going to try and enjoy my job, what's left of it."

In the day's first race, Ruby Walsh rode Willie Mullins' Vautour to victory in the JLT Novices' Chase before Andrew Tinkler gave Nicky Henderson his first win of the festival on Call The Cops.

Tinkler held off Unique De Cotte in the Pertemps Network Final; JJ Codd rode The Package to victory in the Kim Muir Challenge Cup, with the Kim Bailey-trained Darna winning the Brown Advisory and Merriebelle Stable Plate.

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