To Choose & Fergal Lynch (left) keep on best in the closing stages to beat Saratoga Baby & Ronan Whelan© Photo Healy Racing
The top two in the market battled out the finish to the Budweiser Handicap, with To Choose (5/2), under a strong Fergal Lynch drive, getting on top close home to beat the 9/4 favourite Saratoga Baby
Trained by Thomas Gibney, the four-year-old son of Choisir (second winner of the evening for that sire after Flaring Forth , finished second at Fairyhouse on Wednesday last, just a half a length behind All About Timing.
Having raced in mid-division in the early stages he made good headway in the early straight and he disputed the lead with the Ronan Whelan ridden ‘jolly’ two furlongs out.
The duo had a good battle from there with To Choose getting on top in the closing stages, going on to win by two lengths at the line.
After finishing second at Navan on Saturday, Saratoga Baby had to make do with the runner-up spot yet again, while Badger Daly finished three and three parts of a length back in third at 9/2 under Shane Gray for John Hagan.
Thomas Gibney said afterwards; "He gets every yard of that trip and I was confident after Fairyhouse as we had a good pull at the weight with the other horse (Saratoga Baby).
"He will more than likely go over hurdles in time and we will see what the handicapper does now but he might just scrape into a premier handicap at the Curragh on Derby weekend."
Additional reporting by Alan Magee
