Cloud Monkey nips up Sinour’s inside (much to his displeasure – tongue-out) at Dundalk© Photo Healy Racing
It may have taken the newcomer, Cloud Monkey a while to load, but the son of Marju has a lovely approach to racing and he caused a 25/1 shock under Shane B Kelly in the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Maiden at Dundalk. Sinour was the one for money here (7/2 this morning into 7/4). However when he edged away from the rail at the business end, Cloud Monkey didn't need a second invite to take a gap along the rail and a head eventually separated the pair at the line.
Willie McCreery trains Cloud Monkey for his wife, Amanda, and he stated: "He's a horse I've always liked and I've been waiting for a maiden up here as he needs good ground.
"We've had to be patient with him. He's a big backward baby and this was a nice introduction for him with only five runners.
"The Derrinstown Derby Trial closed recently and I was going to enter him in that but I didn't want to put the kibosh on him."
For Shane Kelly (21, from Monasterevin and based with McCreery) this represented a landmark success as he explained: "That's my first winner in Ireland.
"I was with Richard Fahey in England and I rode 43 winners over there. I only came back here about a month before Christmas." (AM & EM)
