What a night for Hoban with a 4,850/1 hat-trick

Westport native Conor Hoban (ended up getting a 1 day careless riding ban) completed a spectacular 4,850/1 treble at Dundalk when in the closing Winter Racing At Dundalk Handicap he added to his earlier gains on Atlas Peak and La Oliva when Gretzky came home like a lion to land the finale.

As others, including the gambled-on favourite, Salam Alaykum (10s this morning into 4s) and the remarkably consistent Shake The Bucket battled it out down the inside, Gretzky, a winner here a fortnight back, 'took off' down the outer inside the last (drifted to his left) to get up and win by a length and a quarter. Miss Forde got no luck in running and she eventually had to settle for seventh.

In a lively betting heat, three other 'money horses' were Discovery Bay (8th), Cottesloe (10th) and Home Secretary (12th).

The victorious 22-year-old commented: "That's my first treble and that horse did it well. Hopefully I can keep the good run going now."

Of course Gretzky got his trainer, Matthew Smith off the mark when winning last time, so he's certainly a tremendous horse for the Kilmessan, County Meath-based handler. (MG & EM)