Maundy Money and Connor King shrug aside conditions to win well at Ballybrit from Parkers Mill© Photo Healy Racing
Ten-year-old Maundy Money made it three wins on the bounce to give Connor King his first Festival winner in the Guinness Time Handicap at Galway. The victorious King's Best gelding won here before, twice at the Ballybrit extravaganza all of five years ago in 2008.
A Festival regular, Maundy Money (10th career success) has also won at two renewals of Killarney and the same at Listowel and he's owned by a bunch of men from the Kingdom, the Push The Button Syndicate.
They and indeed all the 5/1 joint favourites connections and backers were on pretty good terms with themselves from a fair bit out. He tackled Parkers Mill into the straight before going on to defeat that one by four lengths.
Winning trainer David Marnane said: "He cost four and a half thousand out of Mark Johnston's a few years ago now (November 2005) and he's been a legend of a horse for us.
"He obviously likes festivals and as a ten-year-old he is still as fresh as paint.
"We've thought about retirement at times but the way it is is that when you have a horse that can work with him at home then you know you have a good one." (EM)
