Mr Saxobeat and Noel McParlan (second from left) head for home © Photo Healy Racing
Mr Saxobeat (5/1, from 10s this morning) was a decisive winner of the Guinness Time Flat Race in the hands of Noel McParlan.
The 5-year-old by Ask chased the leaders before hitting the front racing out of the dip. He soon went on and wasn’t hard pressed to win by four and a quarter lengths from 40/1 chance Watergrange Jack with Golden De Couer (28/1) back in third place. Dads Lad was the 9/4 favourite to give Willie Mullins a five-timer on the day but, having travelled well, he weakened tamely to finish seventh.
The winner, making his racecourse debut, had attracted market support before being scratched from two engagements in bumpers earlier in the month.
After Imposing Supreme on Tuesday, it was a second winner of the week for Tom Gibney who said: “He's a lovely horse. We got him off Sean O'Keeffe's Dad and we were thrilled when we got him.
“We like him a lot and we would have been disappointed if he wasn't knocking on the door today.
“He'll probably go to the field for a bit of a rest as he's only five and I'd say he's on the go a long time, even before we got him. I think he could do with a rest.
“He had been going well and doing everything right. He was going well in a point-to-point (at Fairyhouse) when he fell and it looked good on the video anyway, we kind of bought him on the strength of that.
“The owners (the Roberto Syndicate) have had Agent Boru with me for years and he came good again this season. We were looking for a replacement for him as he's ten now and, thank God, it looks like we have a lovely replacement for him. They are a lucky bunch of fellas.”
Quotes from Gary Carson
