Charlies Pride and Sean O Keeffe win the Mahon Hospitality Gtoup New York Handicap Hurdle © Photo Healy Racing
Charlies Pride showed the benefit of his recent handicap debut when improving to get off the mark on just his fifth career start in Division l of the Mahon Hospitality Group New York Handicap Hurdle at Kilbeggan.
The Paul Power trained four-year-old had shown little in three starts in maiden company but hinted that there was a race of this nature in him when keeping on for sixth at Cork on his introduction to handicapping.
Held up in mid division early on, Sean O'Keeffe moved closer to the pace aboard the Conduit gelding after three out, closing on leader Neev's Dream after the next.
Sent on turning into the straight, the Power trained runner stayed on well to run out an easy four-and-three-quarter lengths winner.
Paul Power, “He’s a real raw four-year-old and it took him a while to figure it out in Cork but today it all clicked.
“He’s quite tall and backward. I’m delighted to get that into him as a four-year-old and looking forward to him jumping a fence.
“He’s entered at Tramore but it might come a bit soon as I said he’s only four.”
Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
