Brassil helps De Bromhead to double

Five horses lined up for the Galway Plate Trial Handicap Chase at Kilbeggan today with winner Kapard needing early encouragement before eventually scoring by 15 lengths, under a determined ride from Conor Brassil.

Kapard was pulled up on her previous start at the Punchestown festival in April and today was reluctant to start, needing vigorous pushing in the early stages. The mare did eventually race with enthusiasm and stretched clear of her four rivals after the second-last, comfortably beating Birchdale

Brassil joined Kapard's trainer Henry De Bromhead six weeks ago, steered a winner for him at Clonmel on Friday and today completed the trainer's double, following Some Dove s earlier success under Tom Hamilton.

De Bromhead wasn't present and Brassil later explained “she was a bit reluctant to jump off and it took me two or three goes to actually get her into the race. The more she got into the jumping and the further she went, the happier she was.

“I was fairly confident jumping the ditch, the third last, and if something had come to me she would have gone on again. She stayed on well.

“She might have been a bit mareish today but she got the job done and getting her head over the line in front might sweeten her up a bit.”

Quotes from Gary Carson