On her toughest assignment to date, For Bill made light of the desperate conditions to remain unbeaten (two point-to-points and three on the track) in the ITBA Fillies Scheme European Breeders Fund (Pro/Am) Mares Flat Race.
Conceding weight all round, Mikey O'Connor’s mount got to the front about two furlongs down and soon drifted over to the far rail. She soon had her rivals in trouble and in truth, Araucaria who came home very well, was never going to get to the one and three parts of a length winner.
This was a poignant success for the successful trainer, Mick Winters, who buried his father, Dinny, this morning. He died on Friday aged 82.
Fellow eighty-something-year-old, triumphant owner, Donie Sheehan, a well-known retired Killarney chemist, made the marathon trip from his base pay off and though his daughter of Presenting is undoubtedly top-class, he'd be reluctant to ever take her to Cheltenham.
