Tipperary jockey Rachael Blackmore hails very promising performance by Envoi Allen

Envoi Allen was horse racing's star of the weekend as he scored a battling success for Rachael Blackmore and Henry de Bromhead in the Grade 1 Ladbrokes Champion Chase at Down Royal on Saturday.

Stepping back up in distance to three miles, the hugely talented eight-year-old was a little sticky over his fences in the early stages of the race but he eventually warmed to his task, and led after the last to beat the Willie Mullins-trained Kemboy by a length and three-parts at odds of 7/2.

There are any number of options for the Cheveley Park-owned gelding, with Blackmore commenting, “He saw out the three miles well, it was very promising.

"It was a fantastic performance by Henry to get him back to the kind of horse that he is.”