Meticulous planning pays off as Ansar completes famous double

A METICULOUS plan by Dermot Weld to preserve Ansar’s handicap mark paid a huge dividend at Ballybrit yesterday when the course specialist (he’s won six times from eight races on the track) stormed to a tremendous success in the Galway Plate.

The Rosewell House maestro simply refused to run Ansar over fences, following his fifth to Nearly A Moose in the Plate a year ago.

Reasoned Weld: “Both Direct Bearing and Mutakarrim went up for winning before Galway and I wasn’t prepared to take that chance with Ansar.