Pempie hits the target for the Hartys

Pempie (8/1) won the Donaghmore Handicap (Div I) on her second start for Eddie Harty.

The Lope De Vega mare, partnered by Mark Gallagher, came from mid-division to lead over a furlong out and stayed on well to beat Winston Wolfe (10/1) and Scott Lang (8/1) by a length and a quarter and the same.

It was a third career success for the 5-year-old who had won previously for Andrew Balding and Pat Murphy.

Patrick Harty, assistant to his father, said: “She's a lovely mare. She caught my attention when she was entered in the Goffs February Sale online.

“Pat Murphy had won with her in January, and also been second. It's unusual to buy a five-year-old mare (for E22,000) to continue racing but she looked like she had more to offer.

“In fairness to Pat he was very open and said he would have liked to keep her if the opportunity arose.

“We were delighted to get her and bought her with the turf in mind. We thought she'd win a race like this and we were hoping when she did she'd be eligible for all those premier handicaps.

“We'll pick out a few races now and go pot hunting. It's great for the (Eddie Harty) racing club which has some really enthusiastic members and hopefully we can get some more guys in there on the back of that.

“She ran well at Leopardstown and we were still learning a lot about her. She fell out of the stalls from a bad draw but showed plenty of encouragement.

“I'm delighted with what she's done today and I think she'll improve again for it.”

Harty plans to take out a joint licence with his father shortly and added: “I've done the trainer's course and we're just waiting for the legislation to change regarding licencing.

“Hopefully that will be sorted next month and it's an exciting prospect.

“It has worked well in other countries and I think it's the way forward here as well. Not just for the likes of me and Dad but for smaller trainers who can pool resources.”

Quotes from Gary Carson