First track win for McSweeney on Girl In Blue

Jockey Con McSweeney recorded his first racecourse success as he guided the Robert Tyner trained Girl In Blue to victory in extremely testing conditions in the bumper at Limerick, the Greenmount Events & Conferencing Mares Flat Race.

McSweeney who is twenty-four and from Ballincollig in Co Cork, has ridden twenty-one point-to-point winners but today was his maiden success on the track.

The winning 6yo daughter of High Roller won her point-to-point in good style at Loughrea in October and then ran well on her racecourse debut over the course and distance in November.

She was well beaten in a Listed bumper at Navan last time out and she was sent off at 7/1 this afternoon.

Having tracked the leaders in the early stages she hit the front over six furlongs from home.

She was marginally headed approaching the straight but she was back in front and from over two furlongs out and she stayed on well to just hold off the late surge of the John Clifford trained newcomer Young Ambition (14/1) by half a length.

The Eugene O’Sullivan trained Pops Well was sent off the 2/1 favourite under Ciaran Fennessy but she could only manage third, a further twelve lengths back.

Mary Tyner, wife of winning trained Robert, said afterwards: "She will go for a hurdle next."

(Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes)