Another Million (2nd left) and Ricky Doyle © Photo Healy Racing
Another Million got his chasing career off to a successful start when making most to land the Tramore Promenade Beginners Chase.
The 10/1 (from 14/1) chance put in a generally fine round of jumping in this extended 2m5f event although he was far from fluent at the final two fences.
The six-year-old, who was placed in a Limerick maiden hurdle earlier this year, kept on well on the run-in for Ricky Doyle to score by a length and a quarter. Read To Return was the gamble of the race, 22/1 this morning and backed at all rates down to 5/2 favourite, but the Tony Martin-trained gelding could only keep on into second in the closing stages. The Abbey was a further length and a quarter away in third.
Winning trainer Denis Leahy said, “To be fair this was the plan. Vicky (Markowiak), who owns and bred him, said he is a big chaser and that there was a race for horses rated less than 102. She said if we win it we won't be mullered in the handicap, so we took a punt and it was good.
"You should never give a jockey instructions because I said to Ricky, 'whatever you do, don't hit the front until after the last on this fella!'
"He came to win his point-to-point but just unseated, being lairy. He is a grand big horse and has a nice future hopefully. He'll probably get a summer break now because this ground would be plenty quick enough for him.
"Vicky is English and from Kent. She has quite a lot of horses with me. We send most of them to Rae Guest but she let me keep this fella."
Quotes by Donal Murphy
