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A trip to Punchestown could be next on the agenda for Cheltenham hero Doddiethegreat, whose exploits continue to raise vital funds for a Motor Neurone Disease charity.

Owner Kenny Alexander named the horse after Scotland rugby legend Doddie Weir, having met the former lock at a match at Murrayfield and been inspired by his character and kindness while he was living with the condition, which led to his passing in November 2022.

He decided all the horse’s prize money would be donated to the My Name’5 Doddie Foundation, which received a boost of nearly £62,000 when the nine-year-old stormed to a surprise success at 25/1 in the Pertemps Network Handicap Hurdle.

Alexander hopes his Festival star can run again before the end of the season and a visit over the Irish Sea is being weighed up.

A 25-1 winner

A great win for Doddiethegreat wins the Pertemps Network Final Handicap Hurdle 🥇🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿#ITVRacing | #CheltenhamFestival | @sevenbarrows | @MNDoddie5 pic.twitter.com/cRFTb1cafV

— ITV Racing (@itvracing) March 13, 2025

“We were hoping to run him at Ayr at the Scottish Grand National meeting but there’s not really a race for him over three miles there,” he said.

“We may well take him to Punchestown. He’s in fine fettle. We always worry about him, not so much now, but in the early days it was always ‘are his legs fine’.

“But he’s in great fettle and we may well take him there. We wouldn’t want to run him on too fast ground, he needs three miles and he should get that at Punchestown.

“Last I heard from Nicky was we might take him over there and have his last run of the season. He’ll have the summer off, spend the summer at my stud and go back to the trainer in late July, August or September and we’ll go again next season.”

Like the man he is named after, Doddiethegreat has shown remarkable resilience over his career.

A serious injury early in his career kept him off the track for nearly two years, with Alexander hailing the impact of trainer Nicky Henderson in getting the horse back to his best.

“He won his first two bumpers, Nicky has always liked him and thought he was a proper Grade 1 horse,” he said.

“He went novice hurdling, won first time out very impressively and we thought 'here we go'.

“He then got very badly injured and we thought we might lose him, never mind get him back on the track.

“Nicky is a bit of a genius at getting horses who have had really bad injuries and bringing them back. He’s so patient.

“He really loves this horse, he’s always been a fan. Even this season, when he wasn’t running that well, I thought we might have to retire him but he always kept the faith.

“Nicky has trained bigger winners than this but this is a great example of what a genius he is. There aren’t many trainers who would have got this horse back, never mind winning at the theatre of dreams that is the Cheltenham Festival.”

Doddiethegreat’s career earnings are now in six figures, which has provided an impactful boost for the Foundation, while his owner has now won seven times at the Cheltenham Festival.

Four of those were courtesy of the great Honeysuckle, trained by Henry de Bromhead, and Alexander admitted the scenes in the parade ring when Doddiethegreat galloped up the hill were comparable to those sparked by his superstar mare.

“I bred the horse and it’s a great story all round, with the Doddie link and the journey the horse has been on with his injuries,” he said.

“I have been very lucky, the Honeysuckle ones were unbelievable but this was right up there with them.

“He’s a very special horse. When he retires, he has a home for life at my stud. He will always be a hero.”