Wildcat Claims the first for Lyons and Keane

Tennessee Wildcat (3/1 fav) comfortably landed the opening Community Day September 21st Claiming Race at Gowran Park for Ger Lyons and Coilin Keane.

Dropping into this grade for the first time, the nine-year-old registered his seventh career win as Keane brought him from well off the pace to lead just outside the furlong pole.

From there, he wasn’t hard-pressed to beat Border Battle (50/1) and Firlinfeu (12/1) by a length and a quarter and a length and three quarters.

The winning trainer Ger Lyons commented: “We've got these old stalwarts in the yard, him and Tony The Gent tomorrow, and it's a shame but my job is to win races with them.

“I have a field full of older horses, like The Reaper, and that's where they end up out in a field.

“They are put in a claimer to win races which will help Colin's agenda and help my agenda. If somebody claims them, with the prize-money it's more than we'd get in the sales ring.

“If they don't claim them sure won't we carry on in this vein and win a few more races. It's a little bit disrespectful to the horse because he deserves a bit better than that.

“He struggles in handicaps and in that grade it was just nice to see him doing it. I won't be surprised to see him claimed, my horses are put in to be claimed and if they are claimed they are claimed.”

After the race, the runner-up Border Battle was claimed by Mr. John M Keogh to be trained by Shane Duffy.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson