See also » Thornton-completes-Mighty-double-with-gambled-winner
there wasn't much pace on and Mighty Oak Lad is a good jumper, so Donagh lobbed away in front. He said he made a mistake at the first in Thurles and his race was over. Everything was happening a bit quick for him around there as he's a big oul horse. I'd say he's definitely suited by a bigger track and I'd say he'll stay hurdling. We'll give him a couple more runs and see if he can improve again. Karl Thornton, trainer

The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Veterinary Officer examined Read To Return, trained by A.J.Martin, at the request of the Raceday Stewards and reported the animal to be clinically abnormal post race. Samples were taken for analysis

The Raceday Stewards enquired into the apparent improvement in form of Mighty Oak Lad, trained by Karl Thornton, placed, first compared with its two previous handicap runs, the most recent at Thurles on November 30th when finishing 11 of 16 finishers (beaten by 39 lengths) and prior to that when running at Navan on November 18th when finishing 14 of 17 runners (beaten 58 lengths). Evidence was heard from the trainer concerned, who stated that his charge was unable to handle what he described as unraceable ground at Navan and subsequently made a bad mistake at Thurles and failed to be competitive thereafter. The trainer confirmed that no reports were made on either day as required under the provisions of Rule 213. He further stated that today's front running tactics over an extended trip on a galloping track had helped to bring about the apparent improvement in form. When questioned on the market support for his charge, the trainer reported that he had no knowledge of where the money came from and further expressed his surprise that his charge had won. Having considered the matter the Raceday Stewards referred the entire matter to the Referrals Committee for consideration under Rule 212(b)

An extended handicap hurdle for four years old and upwards (109 = 12st)
Penalties - Winner of a hurdle race after calculation of the handicap shall carry 7lb extra for each hurdle race won.