Criminal Mischief and Sean Cleary Farrell © Photo Healy Racing
Criminal Mischief wore down Skradin in the closing stages to give trainer Steve Jones his first winner, at Clonmel this afternoon.
The eventual runner-up went to post a 5/6 shot in the Fourmilewater Maiden Hurdle and soon went clear in the two-miler.
He came back to the field after the third last flight but Charlie O'Dwyer looked to have kept a bit up his sleeve as he got his rivals at work down to the penultimate flight.
Criminal Mischief wasn't great at that hurdle but Sean Cleary-Farrell got a fine leap from the 18/1 shot at the last and he stayed on best on the run-in to record a three-parts-of-a-length win.
It was a marked improvement in form from the Patrick Mullins-owned winner who had been well beaten in a couple of bumpers and a maiden hurdle since joining Jones from Willie Mullins.
It was a second career success for Cleary-Farrell who visited the winners enclosure at Downpatrick last June when partnering Dani Barcelona for Mullins and he said:-
"he became a little lazy at one stage of the race but when other horses joined him he came back into the race. I thought he was emptying jumping the second-last but he kept finding and galloping.
"He is a fine big horse and was bred by Patrick (Mullins) so it is great he has won."
He added:- "Steve is based a stone's throw from Willie Mullins' yard and he travels horses abroad for him and for George Mullins. He doesn't have his license long, puts in a lot of hard work and only has a handful of horses. He puts great time into them and also looks after the likes of the younger lads in the yard.
"I'm 19, that's my second winner and I'm based beside Willie's yard."
Patrick Mullins later added:- "Steve does a lot of driving for us and a lot of our younger members of staff live in digs with his family. He also pre-trains a few horses for us.
"This horse's grandam was my first ever ride and that's why we persevered with him.
"He is a good-looking horse but we basically didn't have space for him in Closutton and couldn't keep him sound, so I asked Steve to take him. He has done a wonderful job keeping him sound and has been slowly improving.
"Steve is from England and moved to us eight years ago. He pre-trained True Self for us but only has a handful of stables. It is a great winner for him."
(Quotes by Tom Weekes)
