Cliff House a good buy for Ward

Mountmellick, County Laois man Tommy Ward, whose had half-shares in horses with John Joe Walsh in the past, saw an instant return on his investment in Cliff House short head victor of the Connolly's Red Mills Horse Care Cubes Handicap under Niall McCullagh at Roscommon.

The Mustameet gelding, hit with a 13Ib rise in the weights for a Tipperary success over a month back, when a 25/1 chance and racing in the J C O'Leary silks, was expected to defy the handicapper as 9/2 favourite on this occasion.

Whilst it was easy at 'the junction,' Cliff House needed to show a different side to his make-up here and he toughed it out well on the slower surface to just gain the day from Chance To Dance

"He's a good tough horse and he'll win again. I'd say he wouldn't like it as soft as this and he'll go jumping in due course.

"He won in Tipperary very impressively on better ground," reported Walsh in the aftermath. (DM & EM)