Apple Crumble a sweet winner for Fitzgerald

Strong-travelling Apple Crumble landed the novice hurdle in Kilbeggan for Barry Fitzgerald but not without a scare.

She tanked past the hard at work leader Raven Rule approaching the home bend but jockey Jack Foley soon lost his left iron and was nearly unshipped.

He swiftly got back into the plate but The Dara Man was mounting his challenge on the outer.

Foley couldn't get his iron back but was doing a good job to remain balanced as his mount jumped the last nicely. It was a different story for The Dara Man who made a bad mistake and lost momentum.

Foley, with one iron, was able to push the 7/4 favourite clear on the run-in to score by seven and a half lengths. The Dara Man finished second at 8/1 and was nine and a half lengths up on Rose Milan (66/1).

“She's a nice filly and probably got caught for inexperience at Ballinrobe the last day but she was sharp today and had the weight allowance,” said Fitzgerald.

“She's a nice mare to go forward with.”

“The iron opened on Jack but he got it back.

“I've nothing picked out at the moment for her but hopefully we can find something nice again.

“The lads that own her (P G C Syndicate) will be looking to breed off her in time so it would be great to pick up some black-type.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson