Ask The Leader and Darragh O'Keeffe© Photo Healy Racing
Ask The Leader sprang a 20/1 shock when claiming the Molson Coors Beverage Company Handicap Hurdle at Downpatrick.
The David Christie-trained mare, racing off the basement mark of 80, left her previous form well behind as she travelled nicely into contention this afternoon.
Darragh O'Keeffe produced her to challenged going to the final flight in the two-mile-two contest and she was in front over the last.
The daughter of Ask responded well as 11/4 favourite Alexharwill attempted to challenge in the closing stages, staying on stoutly to record a length-and-a-quarter success.
Christie revealed afterrwards: "If you run beyond tomorrow, you can't run in point-to-points at all. I had decided if she didn't run well, we would go that route and then we would go back to the track again.
"The last day Darragh said she just choked a wee bit, she's a very tense mare. He said to put a tongue tie on her just to help her a wee bit.
"He rode her slightly wide of everything else and she jumped and travelled everywhere. When she got to the bottom of the hill, I knew she would come up the hill as she stays well.
"In fairness to her, she has grown. She was a very small mare when we got her and she has grown into a nice mare. She has been weak all along and she is only just starting to come to herself now. She's tough.
"My biggest problem with her has been her weakness but she has been thriving and thriving. Just in the last two months you can see her turning into a mare. Her outlook was improving. Before she was only a shell.
"Darragh was just saying when he came in 'that's the point-to-point route finished!'
"We've always talked about her enjoying a cut in the ground but she really enjoyed that today. I don't think it is the ground, I think it is strength now and she is learning and starting to relax. She jumps a fence well too so we have a few options."
(Quotes by Michael Graham)
