Quench The Flame handles heavy ground best

Quench The Flame had just enough left in the tank to beat Dusty Trail by two and a quarter lengths in the mile and a half handicap for trainer Tom Hogan.

The seven-year-old was travelling well and was sent to the front by Ben Curtis two furlongs out. On the climb up the hill to the winning post he got tired, however, and a rallying Dusty Trail was closing as they crossed the line.

The winner was nicely backed this morning from 6/1 to 7/2 and went off 11/4 after proving popular in the betting ring.

This was only his second run since October 25 2010. He had run ninth at Galway at the start of August in a mile handicap.

Dusty Trail was the 7/4 favourite. He has a good record in this race – first in 2010 and second in 2011 and 2012.

Tom Hogan said: “It’s nice to have a winner for a very patient owner (Herb M Stanley). We’ve been waiting nearly two years for that.

“He just handled the ground better than the others. They needed faster ground. It did get very scary at the end.”

When asked if Quench The Flame could reappear tomorrow in Gowran Park, Tom Hogan replied: “We’ll take a look at him in the morning, but he finished very tired there.”

(on course reporting by Donal Murphy)