Black Label puts Galway disappointment behind him to land good ‘pot’

Black Label landed the €30,000 E.P.S. Handicap Hurdle, feature of last night’s Ballinrobe card for trainer Ado McGuinness and 7lb. claimer Jonathan Moore.

The four-year-old, sent off 8/1 outsider of the five runners, was two lengths down and closing on front-running Jesmond Lodge when David Mullins’ mount crashed at the final flight, leaving Black Label to score by twenty lengths from Punch Bag. The winner was opening his account over hurdles at the sixth attempt and a delighted McGuinness admitted: “He’s a horse with a lot of ability, but he’s a bit of a monkey. He was disappointing in Galway and I haven’t been easy on him since then. When he was getting in here off such a light weight, and for such a good ‘pot’, we had to have a crack at it.

“He might creep into the bottom of the Lartigue (valuable four-year-old handicap hurdle) in Listowel. I won it with Victram in 2004 and it’s a race that might suit this little horse.”