Ground comes right for Baltinglass Hill

An absolute wall of horses held chances in a steadily-run Flannery's Bistro Handicap Hurdle at Ballinrobe and it was Baltinglass Hill who finished best of all.

He led narrowly approaching the final quarter of a mile and was ridden upon touching down after the last.

The four-year-old gelding was strongly pressed by handicap debutante Lady De Vesci in the final 150 yards but toughed it out by three parts of a length to the cheers of favourite backers who took the 4/1.

Lady De Vesci put in a decent shift for second at 18/1 and was half a length up on a staying-on Youngnedofthehill who is very much a Ballinrobe specialist.

Trainer Philip Rothwell said: "He was very unlucky to get beat in Navan where it looked like he had it well won and made a mistake at the last. His jumping won the race in Killarney under a brilliant ride from Rachael Blackmore, and Darragh (O’Keeffe) was equally good on him this evening.

“He’s only a four-year-old but he’s growing up and learning his trade. He hasn’t won by far and hopefully won’t get a massive penalty and we’ll find another handicap for him.

“I thought the ground had gone (too soft) for him but when I came here I couldn’t believe my luck.

“Jim Guilfoyle (owner) has been with me for years and we’ve had loads of winners together and he’s a fantastic supporter.”

Baltinglass Hill was following up on a victory in Killarney last month.

Additional reporting by Mark Nunan