Birthday boy O'Connell steers first winner

Amateur jockey Eoin O'Connell partnered a first racecourse winner on his 20th birthday at Limerick today, riding with plenty competence on his father Eamonn O'Connell's Captainofthefleet in the Signsplus Hurdle.

Jockey O'Connell was hard at work on Captainofthefleet from well before the home straight but kept the gelding going to force his head to the front before the final flight. From there the son of Refuse To Bend refused to bend, and held off the renewed challenge of Montys Meadow by a length and a quarter.

Afterwards a delighted O'Connell senior stated "that's only Eoin's fifth or sixth ride on the track but he's had two point-to-point winners already. He rides out for Charles Byrnes a couple of days a week and hopefully he can make it as a professional some day."

He added "Captainofthefleet won on the flat and over hurdles here previously and loves it here. He's a decent horse in his own right and everything worked out today. He'll go to Gowran next for the Pertemps Qualifier but probably won't run at Cheltenham."

By Thomas Weekes