Nigg Bay steers smart path to success in sprint

The near side seems to be the place to be on the sprint course at Navan this afternoon, and connections of Nigg Bay carried out a plan to perfection in the Summer Ladies Day Apprentice Handicap.

The first four home in the previous 18-runner sprint were all drawn high, so Denis Linehan took evasive action and went right after breaking in rear from stall five.

The Johnny Levins-trained gelding quickened up nicely on the stands’ side inside the final furlong and in the end won a shade cozily.

The 12/1 chance beat Early Call by three quarters of a length, with Focus Of Attention a further length away in third.

Levins said, “It was trainer error on his penultimate run as I ran him here on soft ground over the extended five furlongs. I was still learning about him and took a chance but I brought him back to Dundalk and he ran a cracking race.

“We quietly fancied him today as he is a talented horse, and I think he could develop into a high end handicapper over the sprint distances.

“He likes good fast ground, and a big thanks to David Spratt for supporting me. It was a top class ride by Denis as we went out with a plan in our head and he executed it beautifully.”