“It is interesting to watch what Townend immediately did on El Fabiolo early on in the Champion Chase”.
The point I’d make LD73 is that on both occasions Townend wouldn’t have been totally aware of what had actually happened, only that the back end went down and it all happened in a split second.
At Cheltenham it was early in the race, but had that happened jumping the last comfortably in front, I’d suggest his decision would have been different.
Prudent at the fifth fence when any real chance was gone, a different matter 200 or so yards from the winning post of a prestigious race.