Happy Memories for Taaffe
Former smart Flat performer Distant Memories made a winning debut over timber in the Roches Feeds Maiden Hurdle at Limerick.
Now in the care of Tom Taaffe, but still owned by Jim and Fitri Hay, he travelled strongly throughout for Paddy Mangan before picking off the long-time leader Page Turner after a slightly sloppy leap at the last to strike by a length as the 8-13 favourite.
Distant Memories was good enough to win the Group Three Winter Hill Stakes in 2010 when trained by Tom Tate, for whom the five-year-old also landed a Listed event at Pontefract in the summer.
Taaffe's wife Elaine said: "That's only our second runner for Jim and Fitri Hay and we're absolutely delighted to get a winner for them.
"We’ll take it one step at a time with Distant Memories and he may go to Naas at the end of next month for a novice hurdle."
