Last-gasp double for O’Brien

OUT of luck on Await The Dawn at York on Wednesday and set for a return to the Knavesmire today, Joseph O’Brien took the riding honours at Wexford last night, recording a last-gasp double on Snap Alam and Monte Carlo.

Snap Alam defied top-weight in the Pinnacle Handicap, with O’Brien forced to bide his time behind a wall of horses in the straight until unleashing a storming late challenge which saw the blinkered four-year-old nab front-running Smoky Cloud close home for a half-length win.

The Joanna Morgan-trained winner received a strong drive from O’Brien inside the final furlong, enough to see him in trouble with the Stewards, who found him guilty of not allowing his mount time to respond to his whip-use. A one-day ban was imposed.