Booyea books his ticket to Ballybrit

Booyea defied top weight of 10st 2lb to the joy of favourite backers in the Tote.ie Never Beaten By SP Handicap in Ballinrobe.

He went off 2/1 for the extended nine furlong assignment and tracked Portreath before closing at the halfway point.

Gavin Ryan sent him past the hard-at-work leader two and a-half furlongs down, but he wasn't home at the top of the straight as both Status Green and La Tulipe Noire moved into contention. Booyea was game, though, as he fought them off in the final furlong to come in by a length.

La Tulipe Noire found for pressure, but was held in second at 28/1 as Status Green (5/2) gave best in third.

"Fenian Reilly, who has other horses with me, and his brother John bred this fella and are part of the syndicate (Ballinlough Syndicate). It's great to win again with him and it always means that bit more for an owner/breeder," trainer Tom Gibney said.

"All being well he'll go for the three-year-old handicap in Galway next Monday.

"He's a lovely big horse. We'll concentrate on this game for a while, anyway, before we think about jumping. He wasn't as much of a handful to saddle today and he's gradually getting less buzzy, but Gavin said he's still not fully focused on the job during his races.

"Hopefully, there's more to come and we think he'll be a nice horse next year."

Additional reporting by Mark Nunan