Team tactics pay off at Galway
Nintytwo Team made a mockery of being 20lb wrong at the weights to claim the spoils in the €55,000 Freshways Handicap Hurdle at Galway today.
Second to Leg Spinner earlier in the meeting, the Paul Gilligan-trained five-year-old was put into the race in earnest as Streetshavenoname took it up as the field approached the second-last.
Sonnyanjoe and Streets Of Gold were also well in touch and there was very little in it as the leaders jumped the last hurdle in the two-and-three-quarter-mile contest.
But under a strong drive from Andrew Lynch, Nintytwo Team (14-1) forged clear on the run-in to claim the prize by three-quarters of a length from Streetshavenoname, with 11-4 favourite Streets Of Gold in third.
Gilligan enthused: "That's the biggest winner of my career.
"The horse ran a blinder here on Wednesday and we came here with nothing to lose."
The local trainer also heaped praise upon Lynch, a figurehead of Gilligan's small operation in Athenry.
"Andrew rides a lot of my horses and I'd be lost without him," added the handler.
"We had no luck in running on Wednesday and the horse didn't know he was 20lb out of the handicap."
Jim Bolger's unquenchable appetite for nurturing talented juveniles showed no sign of waning as Bunsen Burner powered to a two-length verdict in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Premier Nursery.
Given a strong ride by Kevin Manning, the well-tried chestnut was ridden clear entering the straight and had too many guns for nearest pursuer Indiana Gal.
Manning said of the 9-2 shot: "He did it well and kept on galloping.
"He already had plenty of experience, which stood him in good stead here."
Unwritten Rule also looks a two-year-old to follow judged by his fluent win in the Dawn Juice EBF Maiden.
Galway maestro Dermot Weld once again hit the target in the shape of this 10-10 favourite, who showed plenty of resolution to repel Wassily Kandinsky by a neck.
Winning jockey Pat Smullen told At The Races: "He's a genuine horse and stays very well. He ran very well first time out behind a filly of Ger Lyons' (Elletelle) and we knew he had improved from that.
"We were hoping he would win. I got into a horrible position down into the dip as I had one or two in front of that we beginning to come back, and the last thing I wanted to do was break his momentum and stride.
"That forced me to go a little bit sooner than I wanted, but credit to the horse - he battled and got me home.
"There's no doubt he's a horse with ability and the further he goes in trip, the better he will be. He could be a very nice three-year-old."
