Flannery gets welcome winner with Bowgate

Bowgate Street dug deep to land the spoils in the Callan Tansey Mares Handicap Hurdle at Sligo.

The Mick Flannery-trained mare fought it out with Queenofthelodge from before the second last in the two-mile-one contest.

She got under the last flight but knuckled down well to edge ahead in the closing stages, under Philip Donovan, and record a half-length success.

The 11/2 winner was a first for the trainer since May 2022 and he said:-

"She's been close a couple of times, so was entitled to do that.

"We've been knocking on the door with a few horses, so it's great to get one over the line. It's hard to win any type of race in Ireland.

"She has improved a bit since we got her but she ran well for her previous trainer too. We've just worked on a few little things with her and she's been in good shape the last couple of months.

"We'll keep going with her until the ground gets proper soft.

Philip Donovan added:-

"She nearly over-travelled early on, which she had done over two-and-a-half at Roscommon, but she put her head down and tried hard for me. She hung a bit left after four out, which she is known to do, but never really stopped going forward.

"I've ridden a good few horses for Mick and it's lovely to ride a winner for him."

(Quotes by Mark Nunan)