Belle Helene and Breen Kane do the business in the last at Sligo© Photo Healy Racing
The combined odds of the last four winners at Sligo was a staggering 1,006,875/1 as Tom Taaffe's newcomer Belle Helene (25/1) prevailed in the Sligo GAA Raceday (Pro/Am) INH Flat Race.
There was no respite for punters after earlier thirty three, sixty six and sixteen to one surprises, as the Breen Kane-ridden Belle Helene gained the day by half a length from Imperial Way
Kane's mount leaned in on Imperial Way, and he briefly stopped riding around fifty yards out. However, the four-year-old daughter of Oscar, Belle Helene wasn't going to be denied.
"I bought her on the strength of her brother, Third Opinion, who I had. He was a Grade 2 horse but everything went wrong with him and he had various fractures and problems with hocks and splints," explained Taaffe.
"I like this filly and she has a good way of going. I was hoping to get reasonable ground today and the two fillies (winner and the unplaced Nanny Stone who is in the same ownership) both jump well and will go out on grass now - the other filly has a nice way of going but she's just weaker.
"It's my first winner for Peter Miller who had horses with Richard McCormack 40 years ago. He is from Montreal but he's now in Ireland."
(TW & EM)
