Slieve Binnian strides clear for Ronan Whelan© Photo Healy Racing
Slieve Binnian was all the rage for the William Hill Bet Boost Nursery and duly justified the confidence in some style with a runaway success at Dundalk.
The Michael Halford-trained colt showed some promise on his first handicap start on soft ground at Gowran Park last month and handled this surface really well.
The 10/11 favourite, available at 4/1 overnight, was sent to the front over a furlong out by Ronan Whelan and soon asserted before drawing right away to score by six and a half lengths.
The front-running Bedelia kept on at one pace for second with Trident Star just a nose back in third.
Halford said, "Time will tell how good they were, it looked a very weak race on paper.
"He had a lovely run in Gowran Park, he just got a bit stuck in the ground that day. On the better surface today, I thought he would come on. That sort of run sharpened him up too. He just found the surface too slow that day.
"On that surface he was grand and very straightforward. He got the trip well and you'd have to be happy with him.
"I'm delighted to get a winner for Paul Rooney, we have had a quietish time for him there and he is a great supporter of ours.
"I'll get him home and see what he is like. We always felt he would make a better three-year-old. Ronan said he had matured a lot now. We'll see what the next few weeks brings."
Quotes by Michael Graham
