Bets bounces back to his best

Carrying bottom weight of just 9-3, Any Bets bounced back to form making all to win the Daily Mirror Handicap Chase over 2m 4f for his trainer Oliver McKiernan with seven pound claimer Shane Crimin aboard.

The 8yo son of Beneficial (his fourth winner of the new season) won two handicap chases last summer at Cork in March and Ballinrobe in April.

After his success at Ballinrobe he wasn't seen again on the racecourse until March of this year where he finished well down the field at Navan.

On four starts since then he showed none of his old sparkle finishing well beaten on each occasion included finishing twelfth of thirteen behind Paddy O Dee at Ballinrobe last Tuesday.

Today the Kenneth Parkhill bred gelding, made all and was clear at the halfway stage.

His lead was slightly reduced at the third last but he was ridden out from there and kept on well to score by four lengths at 12/1. Dantes King was best of the rest back in second for Gordon Elliott and Paul Carberry at 6/1 while Best Legend was a neck back in third at 8/1 under Andrew Lynch for Stuart Crawford.

The well supported 13/8 favourite (opened at 5/2 on course) Fever Pitch for Arthur Moore and David Casey ran no sort of race and finished a very disappointing eleventh.

Winning trainer Oliver McKiernan said afterwards: "He did it well. He jumped from fence to fence. Superior jumping, a nice light weight and the extreme trip all helped him.

"The ease in the ground also helped (changed after the fourth race to good, yielding in places, from good to firm).

"He has a cut on his leg coming in there but if he is alright he will be kept going over the summer."

Winning rider Shane Crimin was recording his first success over fences aboard Any Bets and his fifth career victory in total.

After the race it was reported to the stewards that the favourite Fever Pitch had blood in one nostril but scoped clean post race.

Donal Murphy & Michael Graham