King collects with first flat runner

Owner/trainer Aengus King supplied old friend Jessica O'Gorman with a dream second winner in Dundalk's Book Online @ DundalkStadium.com Handicap today with Miss Cunning (40/1), led-up by the jockey's father Anthony O'Gorman.

Miss Cunning, a three-time winner for leading trainer Kevin Prendergast, today ended an 18-race losing spell when eeking a hair's improvement on debut for rookie flat trainer King, who was sending out his first flat runner.

Pushed along by O'Gorman early in the home straight, the five year old mare battled to the front inside the final furlong and scored by a head from Sunset Nova

Miss Cunning was O'Gorman's debut winner for her employer Prendergast in August 2020, and King, who runs a Shannon based transport company and has trained jumpers for 20 years, today explained “Jessica started off with us riding ponies and that's how her father Anthony got friendly with me.

“She used to come and ride her pony every day and then she wanted to go and progress, but we have all national hunt horses so they weren't really suitable. We got her in R.A.C.E. and then she got into Kevin's (Prendergast) and she loves it. I'm so delighted for her now.”

“Anthony helps me out in the stables and we were looking for a horse for Jessica to ride.”

He added “we went looking to find something that would suit to get her on the road again and we were very lucky as this mare didn't sell at the sales recently and we bought her afterwards.

“She had won off a higher mark before, Kevin thought she was a bit short and in fairness I would have no experience on the Flat, so we have to thank Kevin.

“If we never have another result we'll remember this one. It was just nice the way it turned out.”

Miss Cunning was also leading home a 1-2-3 for lady riders, as O'Gorman beat Amy Jo Hayes (on Sunset Nova) and Chloe Byrne (Chummie) into second and third.

Quotes from Gary Carson