Staton spent Saturday morning in his Templepatrick field before making the 20-minute journey to Down Royal, where he delivered a performance trainer Paul Traynor has watched back ten times and still finds hard to believe.
The 100-1 shot powered clear under Anna McGuinness to win the concluding bumper by 12 lengths, providing a memorable success for the local trainer and his partner Karen McNeilly, who owns the five-year-old.
Traynor has had Staton since he was a foal, and, while confident of a good run, had not expected him to win so easily.
“It’s unbelievable. It meant a lot,” he said. “For me and my partner Karen, we treat them all the same. I’ve had him since he was a foal.
“I thought a fair bit of him as a point-to-point horse. I thought he’d run a good race, but to flick away as easily as he did, that was unreal. It was great to see him do it so well.”
Staton had finished third in a point-to-point at Tyrella but arrived at Down Royal after two well-beaten efforts over hurdles. His starting price suggested few expected the transformation, although Traynor felt his chances were better than the odds implied.
“We’re only a small yard and you’ve to train what you have,” he said. “When the [Gordon] Elliott horse Uncle Pad was pulled out, I thought we’d every chance of a big race.”
Traynor tries to have runners ready for his local meeting, and Staton’s preparations could scarcely have been more relaxed.
“He was in the field all morning, got pulled out at one o’clock and went straight down to Down Royal,” he said. “It’s great to have a chance to get horses running locally.”
Staton and Anna McGuinness strikes at huge odds at Down RoyalCredit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)
McGuinness was partnering a horse whose everyday work is done by his trainer, and Traynor had offered an enthusiastic assessment before she took the ride.
“He’s a very straightforward horse to ride,” he said. “I’m the only person who ever sits on him. He’s always given me a good feel, and I said to Anna, ‘If I could do the weight I would love to be riding this lad.'”
That confidence was rewarded after Staton travelled strongly before drawing emphatically clear. Traynor has since relived the performance repeatedly.
“I’m sure I’ve watched that race back ten times,” he said, admitting it has surprised him with every viewing. “On the day, watching them come down the hill, I said, ‘He’s going to run away with this.’ He just carried her everywhere. It was just right on the day.”
The result brought another cherished success against powerful opposition after Kershaw’s defeat of the Willie Mullins-trained Lultimatom in a Kilbeggan bumper in April.
“I beat Willie Mullins for the first time in a bumper back in April and it meant the world to me,” Traynor said. “To do it again meant a lot, especially in the fashion he did it.”
Read more:
Looking for free bets? Racing Post have got the best offers, all in one place. Visit racingpost.com/freebets to find out more.