Boats gets back on track at Navan

Burn The Boats defied top weight as he took the last at Navan this evening, the Follow Navan On Facebook Handicap, scoring under Colin Keane for Ger Lyons.

The five-year-old son of Big Bad Bob won the valuable Paddy Power Sprint (better known as the Scurry) at the Curragh last June but he failed to follow up on four starts since.

Dropped in class today and upped in trip he was sent off an 11/4 chance having opened at 4/1 on-course (touched 5/1 this morning).

Held up in the early stages he was fifth at the halfway point, making progress from two furlongs out.

He was ridden to challenge a furlong from home, hitting the front 100 yards from the line before keeping on well from there to score by half a length. Maudlin Magdalen who led after two furlongs, finished a good second under Ian Queally for Donal Kinsella at 4/1, while Elusive Ridge was a further two and three parts of a length back in third under Connor King for Harry Rogers. Abushamah went off the 6/4 favourite (opened 7/4) but he finished a very disappointing last under Chris Hayes for Kevin Prendergast.

Ger Lyons said afterwards: "He was the best horse in the race. You have to think the trainer was running him over the wrong trip. Hopefully that is the turning point.

"Colin said he was different horse riding him like that. He won a Scurry Handicap so you can forgive me for thinking he had a bit of speed.

"It was liking he running away from something and quitting. I said to the owner (David Spratt) before we pulled the plug on him that we step him up and drop him in.

"Today was about retiring him if it all went wrong. We will try and find something similar now.

"He has a bad back and I can’t imagine Galway would suit him. That would be the wrong thing to do with him."

Additional reporting by Gary Carson