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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

There's Better Times Ahead for his backers

Sun 13th Mar 2022, 16:17

Better Times Ahead clips the lastBetter Times Ahead clips the last
© Photo Healy Racing

Better Times Ahead brought up plenty of bets in Naas when getting the better of a wrestle for the spoils with Kashi in the extended 1m7f handicap hurdle.

Robert Tyner 's charge was available at 9/2 this morning but was backed down from an opening show of 11/4 to 2/1 favourite.

He made headway to join in two out and duelled with Kashi over the last. The five-year-old gelding clipped that flight but it didn't halt his momentum as he was ridden by Mark Walsh to edge ahead in the closing stages.

The 'jolly' won going away by two and a quarter lengths from top-weight Kashi (11/2) who posted a runner-up finish for the fourth time in his career. The placings were completed by Know The Game (33/1) and Birdsandthebees (14/1) in third and fourth respectively, some six lengths behind the runner-up.

JP McManus' racing manager Frank Berry said: “He got a bit lost in his first handicap but travelled a lot sweeter today.

“He handled the ground well and jumped well. We’ll find something similar.

“He’s big enough to jump a fence in time.”

Additional reporting by Alan Magee

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.