Shorter trip suits Limpopo Tom nicely

Limpopo Tom and Brian Cawley won the battle with Goal from the last in Cork’s two mile handicap hurdle, as he took the honours by a length and three parts.

Paul Flynn’s six-year-old gelding has been recently competing in two and a half mile handicap hurdles, but evidently enjoyed this shorter distance.

“He (Stan Glynn) bought him before Galway, but the ground turned soft so we decided to be patient instead of running him,” handler Paul Flynn explained.

“Keith Donoghue rode him the last day and he said to drop him back in trip and it was the right thing to do.

“If he keeps improving he’ll pick up another one. We might bring him to England for better ground if we have to. He doesn’t seem to like Dundalk so we might bring him somewhere on the flat like Wolverhampton.”

The 5/1 joint favourite led from three out but faced a strong challenge on his inside from Goal (8/1) as they came to the last. However the runner-up couldn’t reel the winner in but beat Bridgequarter Girl (7/1) into third by three and a quarter lengths. John The Soldier the other 5/1 joint favouirite, trailed in last of the 11 finishers. Ontheground fell.

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes