Daly opens hurdle account as Barney Rocks

Evan Daly partnered his first winner over hurdles as Rock On Barney returned to form when landing a gamble in the Tipperary Handicap Hurdle at Clonmel.

The Gerry Lynch-trained gelding was runner-up three successive times last February including twice at this venue but had totally lost his form and was pulled up on his latest three outings.

However the addition of cheek-pieces seemed to fire him up and, having been 40/1 in morning price lists, was backed on track from 20/1 into 8/1.

The seven-year-old gelding led approaching the penultimate flight, and stayed on well under the Craughwell rider to beat Coole Craft by two and three quarter lengths.

The front-running Zipporah weakened after two out to finish 24 lengths further back in third.

The vast majority of the 2m3f event was run out of sight of racegoers due to a heavy blanket of fog, with a few camera angles at the end of the back straight and the turn into the home straight giving a brief glimpse of the runners.

Daly (17) said, “That’s just my second ride over hurdles. I was with Gerry (Lynch) when I was about 12 and then I moved to Ger Lyons and was with him for about three years. I learned a lot there and had four winners on the Flat

“I’m not tall but I’m stocky and I felt if I got a few years on the Flat I’d be happy. I just got out my (National Hunt) licence with Joseph O’Brien and I’ve been there since October.”

Lynch said, "I'm delighted for Evan and I'm very friendly with his father Iggy. This horse will go for another handicap now and tip away on that ground.

"I was hopeful coming today as he was second here last year so it's horses for courses. We left the tongue-tie off him and left him with nothing on him and didn't even put a cross-noseband on him and it seemed to work."

(TW & AM)