Casanova and Ronan Whelan© Photo Healy Racing
Casanova (11/2) ended a three-year wait for success when gaining a first triumph at one of his preferred courses, Listowel, in the Oisin Kelly 'Every Drop Counts' Giveblood.ie Handicap.
Sired by Frankel, Casanova had finished third in consecutive renewals of the week's featured Listowel Stakes in 2021 and 2022 and today ended a 38-race losing spell under jockey Ronan Whelan. Clever And Cute was an early casualty when unseating rider leaving the stalls and while she then caused trouble in running for much of the field, Whelan swung wide into the home straight as Casanova quickened well to eventually beat Expound by 2.5 lengths.
Winning trainer Ado McGuinness wasn't present and Whelan reported: “I had been placed on him in the Listed race here in 2022 and, whatever it is, he does tend to run well at this time of year.
“I was a bit worried with 'good' being in the going description but riding on it, I definitely thought it was on the slower side.
“I was happy to follow Complete Fiction going three-deep on the fresher ground and while I had planned to challenge down the middle, the loose horse ran off the bend and pushed us wider than we'd have liked. I had enough in hand to get the job done though.”
