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Tom Weekes

Tom Weekes

First win for Artic Lane

Fri 29th Nov 2024, 14:10

Artic Lane and Liam McKenna (near side)Artic Lane and Liam McKenna (near side)
© Photo Healy Racing

Frustrating to follow Artic Lane (9/4) gained a first racecourse success at Thurles today as the Declan Queally-trained gelding landed the www.thurlesraces.ie Maiden Hurdle by a nose, under jockey Liam McKenna.

The point-to-point-winning Arctic Cosmos-sired five-year-old had finished a promising second in a hot Leopardstown bumper at last Christmas but was subsequently beaten five times - including at odds of 8/13, 15/8, 11/10 and 2/1, but today came good when getting the better of a battle with Relieved Of Duties to score a last-gasp success

Queally wasn’t present and afterwards McKenna commented "we just couldn't shake off Jack (Kennedy, on runner-up Relieved Of Duties) up the straight and I wasn't sure if we had won.

"It was a big help with Willie's horse (C'est Ta Chance) coming out so we were hopeful as he had a lot of placed form. I knew Jack's horse would jump out and gallop so Declan (Queally) said to track him and it all panned out well.

"He looks like he will be nicer over further and going handicapping he could pick his races and will hopefully win a couple. Declan has been very very good to me and we're going well together."

About Tom Weekes
A lifelong racing fan, Tom began writing point to point reports in 2002 and has reported for irishracing.com since 2003, when he joined Irish Racing Services - since taken over by the Press Association. Has ridden a point to point winner and won the 2018 Irish Field Naps Table.