Harrington's Bob has Melbourne aim

The Melbourne Cup is a possible long-term objective for Bob Le Beau after his Listed-race success at Limerick on Friday night.

The four-year-old is enjoying a fine first half of the season for Jessica Harrington, winning twice and filling the runner-up spot twice, most notably finishing second to the much-vaunted Australian import So You Think in the Mooresbridge Stakes at the Curragh.

Patrick Cooper, racing manager for owner Christina Patino, said: “We think he’s a nice horse and it was a good performance from him the other day.

“There are no real plans for him at the moment, we’ll see how he comes out of the race and what Jessica thinks, but the Melbourne Cup might be a possible target for later in the year.

“He doesn’t qualify at the moment but we’ll keep plodding around in Ireland and might be able to get him in (to the Melbourne Cup).”

It turned out to be a decent couple of days for Patino’s Anamoine Limited ownership, with Harrington’s Banksters Bonus winning the Ulster Derby at Down Royal.

“He’s quite a nice three-year-old and it was a good performance, but we don‘t have anything in mind for him at the moment,” Cooper added.