Sam Curling saddled his first winner under rules when Ballochroy finished strongly to land a tidy gamble in the Clonmel Hospice Support Group Handicap.
The six-year-old gelding was available at 20/1 this morning with William Hill and Boylesports, and further support on track saw him sent off a 7/1 chance in this competitive looking two mile event. Kristal Komet made a bold bid from the front and was only caught in the closing stages as Seamie Heffernan got a storming late run out of Ballochroy down the centre of the track to prevail by .
Winning trainer Sam Curling said: “That's my first winner on the track. I got the licence about four months ago and have just had a handful of runners. I do a bit of pre-training for the owners (Galway-based Maroon Tribes Syndiacte), and they felt he would benefit from a change of scenery. He came on a lot from the run at Limerick earlier this month, and I fancied him today. He could go for a handicap hurdle next.”
Curling (27) is a son of renowned equine artist Peter Curling, and was St Nicholas Abbey's regular work-rider during his time with Aidan O'Brien at Ballydoyle. He has already enjoyed plenty of training success in point-to-points, and has 30 horses in his care.
He previously recorded 50 winners in the saddle, notably the Grand National Trial at Punchestown in 2003 aboard Hedgehunter.
