Paul Carberry brought his seasonal tally for the new National Hunt campaign to seven at Roscommon last evening when completing a 151/2 to 1 double aboard Cill Bhleidin and Johnny Brushaside.
After Leslie Young's 5 to 1 shot easily accounted for first reserve Miss Peacock and Joey Elliott in the opening Railway Bar Maiden Hurdle, Carberry then teamed with Noel Meade's Johnny Brushaide to slam Like A Lion in typically cheeky fashion in the three mile chase.
Their task was eased when Twilight Buck, who was a couple of lengths clear and travelling well for Barry Geraghty, suffered a crashing tumble at the fourth last. 'I don't know whether he would have got the trip or not. If the other horse (Twilight Buck) had stayed up we might have found out. I'd say two-and-a-half miles is his ideal trip but we'll enter him for the Galway Plate. He wants ground like the road,' said the winning Navan handler.
Baku, trained under permit by Andrew Heffernan for his wife, Dunnes Stores chief Margaret, justified strong support from 5 to 1 to 3 to 1 favourite when landing the seven furlong handicap. The winner was rider Declan McDonogh's first success at the mid-western venue and now Gowran Park is the only remaining flat track he has failed to ride a winner in the country. Joey Elliott opened his account on the flat when scoring on Tony Martin's top-weight Classic Mix.
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