John The Soldier toughs it out Ballyspellan Lad made a bold bid from the front to win the opener at Tipperary, but when the petrol ran out it was John The Soldier who came through to land the spoils. Tim Carroll and Ballyspellan Lad had his rivals hard at work on the turn for home in this two and a half mile handicap hurdle, but his stride pattern noticeably shortened after the second last. Ian McCarthy guided John The Soldier past him approaching the last and the eight-year-old son of Beneficial stayed on well to hold Limpopo Tom (8/1) by a length. Limpopo Tom had raced in second behind the clear leader Ballyspellan Lad throughout, but had no answer to John The Soldier’s sustained challenge. Winning trainer Raymond Hurley commented: “He was very unfortunate the last day [unseated at Bellewstown]. Ian gave him a great ride today. “I’ll see about running him in Galway, but he needs a break between races. He does love good ground.” There were 17 runners and Definite Knockoff the 7/4 favourite was a neck behind Limpopo Tom in third with 16/1 shot Schelm in fourth. Definite Knockoff for Sean Thomas Doyle and Conor Maxwell was the horse for money, backed from an opening show of 5/2 down to 7/4. Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
