Throughout his long career in the saddle, Davy Russell will rarely have had an easier ride. Cruising along throughout, when the leaders turned the tap on coming down the hill he went with them effortlessly, easing to the front around the home turn, before jumping the last in front and leaving them all up the hill, apparently unextended.
It was one of the most eyecatching performances by a juvenile at the venue for some time, and it means that trainer Gordon Elliott now has the top two in the market for the juvenile championship, with Fil Dor usurped for pole position in the eyes of bookmakers, having witnessed this stellar effort.
Speaking to Racing TV, Russell reflected: "He's a grand horse. We always thought he'd improved from Punchestown you know and he did.
"The ground is on the slow side, it's lovely ground. It's probably good to soft maybe. The ground wasn't an issue, no."
However, the jockey refused to be drawn on where Pied Piper will head next, saying: "I really don't know what Gordon (Elliott) has in mind for him. He's loads of options. We've a lot of Festivals ahead of us at the back end of the year so whatever route he'll take I'm sure Gordon will put plenty of thought into that."
Russell also believes that the horse is quick learner, which will stand him in good stead with some big days ahead: "He was immature the last day. As I was saying to Joey, the owner's representative, he made a slight mistake down the back but he figured it out very quickly, so he's quite intelligent."
Meanwhile, Fil Dor has an entry in next week's Spring Juvenile Hurdle at Leopardstown's Dublin Winter Festival.
