Lad 'better than ever'

GOWRAN PARK, which has been hugely re-developed, threw open its gates to the press yesterday and three handlers, Michael Bowe, Willie Mullins and Frances Crowley availed of the opportunity to gallop some of their stars.

Bowe, who is to all intents and purposes the trainer, although the licence is held by his father, James, worked his entire yard - all four of them - while Mullins and Crowley brought three horses to the course.

A quiet non-racing day in Kilkenny shouldn’t have produced much drama, but, unfortunately, it did with Cheltenham Gold Cup aspirant, Crowley’s Sackville, taking a fall and putting his immediate future in doubt.