My Lovely Boy and Sean O'Keeffe (right) jump the last ahead of runner-up Winsor Vixen© Photo Healy Racing
There was a big gamble on the long-absent Seaboard (8/13 fav) in the Churchfield Handicap Hurdle (Div II), but he had no more to give from the second last as My Lovely Boy (6/1) went on to score from Winsor Vixen
The first two had a good tussle after the last, with the winning Trans Island 5-y-o scoring by half a length in the hands of replacement rider Sean O’Keeffe.
Trained near Listowel by his owner Tom O’Connor, My Lovely Boy has been improving with racing and had run well when chasing home the ‘well-in’ Pilbara on his previous outing at Tipperary.
Winning trainer Tom O’Connor said: “He deserved that as he had been tapping on the door for a while. He is very genuine and is very easy to train.
"We bumped into Pilbara the last day at Tipperary and we thought today that maybe there was another one, Seaboard (the unplaced gamble), to beat.
"Gearoid (Brouder) forgot to do his medical protocol and he'll be disappointed to miss the ride but it is easy to slip up at the moment."
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
