Willie McCreery and Joseph O'Brien in the winners enclosure with Glen Ginnie© Photo Healy Racing
Willie McCreery, who saddled his first Group winner at Leopardstown yesterday evening, continued his dream run this season as Glen Ginnie took the mile handicap at Navan.
Champion jockey Joseph O’Brien, successful earlier aboard Wilshire Boulevard was completing a double on the evening but it also brought up an unfortunate double for Rory Cleary.
Cleary was due to partner the Red Clubs filly but had to watch from the sidelines after a fall at Leopardstown 24 hours earlier, and he also missed another Navan winner in the shape of Silldora
Victory seemed unlikely over quarter of a mile out as O’Brien was hard at work but the 10/1 chance really found her stride when meeting the rising ground.
She struck the front in the closing stages to beat Zelie Martin (7/1) by three quarters of a length, with Replay (20/1) only losing the lead in the final 50 yards another half-length away in third.
McCreery, now on the 12 winner mark for the season, said, “Poor old Rory! Joseph gave her a brilliant ride down the inside. I said to him to give her plenty of cover, and he said to me he chanced down the rail. We’ll look for something similar.”
Additional reporting by Michael Graham
