Jesmond makes all to foil gamble Jesmond Lodge made all as she took the opener at Sligo, the Sligo Maiden Hurdle, under Andrew Lynch for John Ryan. Having her tenth start over flights today the daughter of Tagula was sent off the 2/1 joint-favourite. Sent straight to the front by Lynch she was ridden out on the run-in to see off the well-backed Ballybryan (Barry Geraghty for James Nash and JP McManus) by a length and three parts. The runner-up touched 8/1 earlier in the day but opened on-course at 9/2 before going off an 11/4 chance. Runyon Rattler was the other joint-favourite and he finished third after losing considerable ground at the start. John Ryan said afterwards: "Her full-brother (Humphrey Bogart) won a maiden at Doncaster recently and they are talking him as the real deal. Richard Hannon trains him. "All eight horses out of the mare have won. I fancied her today and she will probably go for a four-year-old only handicap hurdle at Ballinrobe next week. "She is a lovely filly and she almost won a flat race here before. "We lost Foildubh (sustained a fatal injury in the Galway Plate) and we are heartbroken after him. Ryan got a horrible fall from him but thankfully he is on the mend. "I bought Foildubh off a good friend of mine Mick Ahern who died of cancer."
