King collects with Champion-pace Clonmel double

Clonmel's opening races were contested at Champion Chase-speed today with both being won by jockey Daniel King, who completed the feat on Name Me Famous (11/4f) in the Bulmers BBQ Opportunity Handicap Chase.

King collected the beginners' chase on Desert Friend in a time of 3m55.2secs - two seconds faster than Energumene's Champion Chase win and doubled his score on 93-rated Name Me Famous which made jumping errors but clocked 3m53.7sec on today's fast surface.

Winning trainer Eoin McCarthy reported “for a horse that can jump well, he made a lot of mistakes - whether it was down to the ground, or the speed they were going, I'm not sure. He is awful tough and genuine though.

“Jumping was never an issue until today - he was very good at Limerick the last day so we will give him the benefit of the doubt. He'll continue in summer chases now and I'm delighted for Denis (Enright, from Ballylongford) who is a good supporter of the yard. Denis has had two horses with me and both has won three races each.”