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Punchestown 2024
Punchestown 2024
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- Lingo holds on to spring shock
Gary Carson
Lingo holds on to spring shock
Talk The Lingo and Barry Cash lead the field
© Photo Healy Racing
66/1 shot Talk The Lingo just held the late charge of Briar Hill to land the spoils in the Latin Quarter Beginners Chase at Galway.
Barry Cash had the Revoque gelding to the fore throughout in the two-mile two-furlong contest and he kicked a couple of lengths clear over the final fence.
Joe Hennessy 's charge had plenty of challengers lined up behind him turning for home but knuckled down well to his task.
6/4 favourite Briar Hill stayed on well in the closing stages to get on terms in the last strides but was a head down as they passed the line.
Talk The Lingo was flighty in the winners' enclosure and knocked over his handler.
“He's always that way,” explained Hennessy.
“He's improved an awful lot since his last run. We knew he'd run well and the ground was right.
“He wasn't doing a tap in front and Barry was riding him at every fence
“My wife bred him and he's a half-brother to Bob Lingo who won the Galway Plate a few years ago. He might be back next year for the Galway Plate.
“This is my first winner here. We have only a couple of horses — we are dairy farmers. He's the only horse I have in training at the moment, as the other one I have is just a breaker.”
An emotional Cash added:- “It was great. I think I owed him that as I fell off him in Roscommon the first day
“The last day he ran was left-handed and he's not great going left-handed. Today I kind of made his mind up that we were going to buck out and go.
“He stays well, jumped great, did everything right and John Thomas (McNamara) gave me a hand.”
(Additional reporting by Alan Magee)