Barry Connell© Photo Healy Racing
Karen’s Gift (5/1) was prominent from the outset in the Dysart (Mares) Maiden Hurdle and found plenty up the home straight to account for Call The Fairies (13/2) by a length and a quarter.
Jenny’s Getaway (11/1) was back in third with the 15/8 favourite Red Iron in sixth having been hampered by the loose Eternal Gale going to three out.
Fortunately for the winner, she managed to stay out of harm’s way as the loose horse threatened to play more of a part late on than she actually did in the end.
The winning daughter of Jeremy had beaten the useful Dime A Dozen in a point-to-point in January 2019 and this was a good effort on her first start since then.
Barry Connell, who got off the mark as a trainer when Snake Oil won a bumper at Listowel last Sunday, said: “She had the form in the book from her point-to-points, with six winners, including Dime A Dozen, coming out of the couple of races she ran in.
“We’d thought she’d need it given how long she was off. She tired from the back of the last alright and really it was her jumping that kept her in it.
“I’d like to think she’ll make a nice chasing mare for next summer. It’s beautiful ground out there today. I’m not sure if she’d want January or February ground.
On his breakthrough winner as a trainer last weekend, he said: “It’s probably right up there with Cheltenham winners (owner of County Hurdle winner Pedrobob and Albert Bartlett winner Martello Tower). Most jockeys will tell you when they go training it’s more satisfying because you’re there with them all the time, you’re involved in all the decision-making. You’re seeing the whole picture.
“We’ve Roger Loughran and Garret Cotter full-time so we’ve super riders and that makes all the difference. We’ve a top-class team. It took a long time to put the thing together and to get going, but hopefully now we can keep on a roll.
“We’ve a lot of four and five-year-olds that haven’t run and we probably won’t see them until the ground gets proper soft. I’d say we’ve a nice team of bumper horses and hopefully we can keep it going through the winter.”
Additional reporting by Eamonn Murphy
