Girolamo and Kevin Manning© Photo Healy Racing
The concluding Crowne Plaza Race & Stay Handicap had plenty of contenders with strong recent handicap form, but it was the unexposed Girolamo (20/1) who came out on top on handicap debut.
On his fifth career start, and just a second since being gelded, Jim Bolger’s three-year-old by Dawn Approach (quick double for the sire) came through to lead under two furlongs out.
From there he ran on strongly to beat the staying-on pair Edification (13/2) and Nimitz ( 9/1) by two and three quarter lengths and a head.
The 7/4 favourite Dalileo finished in seventh place.
“He had a good run in Cork over a mile-and-a-quarter and I think the step up in trip tonight brought out the best in him,” said the winning rider Kevin Manning.
“He has a lot of size and scope about him, he's a horse that just took a while to come to hand. He's a big strong leggy horse and he's just after filling into himself in the last while.”
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
