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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

Booyea books his ticket to Ballybrit

Mon 24th Jul 2023, 18:50

Booyea, yellow sleeves, jumps from the widest drawBooyea, yellow sleeves, jumps from the widest draw
© Photo Healy Racing

Booyea defied top weight of 10st 2lb to the joy of favourite backers in the Tote.ie Never Beaten By SP Handicap in Ballinrobe.

He went off 2/1 for the extended nine furlong assignment and tracked Portreath before closing at the halfway point.

Gavin Ryan sent him past the hard-at-work leader two and a-half furlongs down, but he wasn't home at the top of the straight as both Status Green and La Tulipe Noire moved into contention. Booyea was game, though, as he fought them off in the final furlong to come in by a length.

La Tulipe Noire found for pressure, but was held in second at 28/1 as Status Green (5/2) gave best in third.

"Fenian Reilly, who has other horses with me, and his brother John bred this fella and are part of the syndicate (Ballinlough Syndicate). It's great to win again with him and it always means that bit more for an owner/breeder," trainer Tom Gibney said.

"All being well he'll go for the three-year-old handicap in Galway next Monday.

"He's a lovely big horse. We'll concentrate on this game for a while, anyway, before we think about jumping. He wasn't as much of a handful to saddle today and he's gradually getting less buzzy, but Gavin said he's still not fully focused on the job during his races.

"Hopefully, there's more to come and we think he'll be a nice horse next year."

Additional reporting by Mark Nunan

1st
2/1Fav
Tote €3.00 €1.20
2nd
1L
28/1
€7.20
3rd
2.25L
5/2
€1.30
4th
3.5L
7/1
About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.