Fosters Cross starts busy summer in style

Fosters Cross smoothly picked off Laughing Boy a furlong and a half out and the veteran 11-year-old forged on to win by two and a half lengths at 3/1 in the Leopardstown Club Members Handicap.

A trip to Galway could be on the cards for Thomas Mullin’s dual-purpose son of Dr Massini. He won the big amateur handicap there in 2011 and tonight gave him his 10th career success.

“We were coming up here for a gallop and then the race cut up. The race itself turned out a bit funny when the horse went on four furlongs out. It played into our hands,” Thomas Mullins explained.

“He’s hardly improving at the age of 11. He likes the good ground and he might be busy. He could go to Tipperary for the Grimes Hurdle. He could go for the amateur race at Galway depending on what penalty he gets.

“He’ll definitely be in the Galway Plate. He’s off a nice mark there. I’m hoping to have three in the Plate if he runs.

“He’s brilliant, I love him. He won real well and he has great enthusiasm. We didn’t expect to win. We were coming up to prepare for Galway.”

Auden, Prince Chaparral and Bobskier were the three non-runners to leave only five to tackle the mile and a half trip.

Pat Smullen rousted Laughing Boy into the lead with half a mile to race. Once he was passed by Fosters Cross and Joseph O’Brien he weakened out of contention as Something Graceful (5/4f) came through for second.

This winner gave Joseph O’Brien a double on the evening after scoring in race four with Great Explorer

Additional reporting by Gary Carson