The Four Elms forges clear for Chris Hayes© Photo Healy Racing
The Four Elms landed the ‘It’s a Student’s Life’ Handicap for the second successive year at Limerick, with Chris Hayes again in the saddle on the John Joe Walsh-trained gelding.
Johnny Murtagh elected to set the pace on Benbecula (3/1jt fav), and the former champion appeared to have stolen it when quickening again off the home turn.
However Hayes was alive to the move on the 9/2 chance, and reeled in the front-runner by the furlong pole before forging clear to score by three and three quarter lengths. Waydownsouth was another two lengths back in third.
Walsh said, “He won this race last year and we put a tongue strap on him today which obviously helped him. Chris took him out onto the better ground, and he said he travelled well.
"We’ll look for something similar and he might go over hurdles again. We have options.”
Hayes said, “He hated the ground and I kept trying to go wider and wider on the unused ground. But to be fair to him he put it to bed in two strides.”
