O'Connell and Fenton make their Own luck On My Own had fortune on his side when making virtually all to land the CIT SU Handicap Hurdle in the hands of Brian O’Connell. The Philip Fenton-trained gelding, sent off at the unusual odds of 17/2, was about to be challenged by Mark Me Up (9/2) when that rival made a terrible blunder at the final flight. Declan Bates did well to keep the partnership intact and his renewed effort on the run-in just failed by a fast diminishing head. The pair pulled eight and a half lengths clear of 11/4 favourite Beckwith Star in third, while the morning price gamble on Glenbarrow (20/1 into 5/1) failed to pay dividends. The Dessie Hughes-trained gelding was weaker on track drifting from 9/2 out to 6/1, and could find no extra for Bryan Cooper from the second last to finish fifth. Fenton said, “We had all the luck on our side. It was good to come out on the right side. “He’ll go to the Doncaster Sales in May but will run over fences before that. He makes a better effort over fences as his jumping can be a bit clumsy over hurdles.” (Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes)
