Cash The Cheque with winning connections© Photo Healy Racing
Monaghan trainer Anthony McCann hadn’t trained a bumper winner before Land Afar’s victory at Ballinrobe in May but is making up for lost time as shown by the decisive success of Cash The Cheque (7/2) in the finale at Sligo.
The daughter of Soldier Of Fortune took closer order in third at halfway and made steady progress to lead entering the home straight. From that point Aine O’Connor always had matters under control as her partner stayed on well to beat the 11/8 favourite Double Pink by five and a half lengths. Lady Of The Vale was a further length and three quarters back in third.
After Rockstown Girl’s win at Roscommon last month, this was the third bumper winner of the campaign for the winning trainer with O’Connor having been in the saddle on all of them.
McCann said: “I had a runner on the Flat here yesterday and when all the rain came I was in two minds whether to run her but it dried out really well today, thank God.
“She’d probably want even better ground but she’s good, well above average.
“She’s come on with every run. We probably got it wrong the first day in Down Royal. We had no hood on her and she just got a wee bit keen and got bumped.
"Last time (second at Cork) we probably rode her a little bit wrong. She was too far back and made up a lot of ground at the wrong time of the race, but I was very impressed with how she finished out her race and she bumped into a very good horse of John McConnell’s.
“Today we said we’d do things different and we’d let them worry about us instead of us worrying about them. She’s a little bit more mature now and Aine gave her a superb ride.
“She might go for a winners’ bumper and, during the winter, might go across the water for a bit of better ground.”
