Magnetic North comes home clear© Photo Healy Racing
It was all very straightforward for Magnetic North as he repeated last year's success in the claimer at Ballinrobe.
Dylan Browne McMonagle sat in the box seat behind front-running Chica Power and went on three furlongs out.
The well backed 11/8 favourite asserted inside the final quarter of a mile and powered clear in the final furlong to score by seven lengths. Quick Blessing finished second at 40/1 and was three-and a-half-lengths clear of Santa Catarina (6/1) in a race which very few horses got into.
This was Magnetic North's 11th career success and fifth in claiming company.
Browne McMonagle said: "It was straightforward. I was drawn wide and I knew Chica Power would go forward. I was happy to take a lead off her, but she wasn't able to lead me that long and she stopped pretty quickly!
"All my lad does is stay and he wasn't stopping at the line.
"He's 10 now but he's still fresh and well and Ian does a great job with his horses, turns them out every day and keeps them sweet.
"The ground is soft and they're getting into it."
Ian Donoghue added: "I only have him since April and he's a very easy horse to train, the less you do with him, the better.
"He's good in these claimers and I'm happy to have him at the moment because the jumpers haven't been running great!
"He's in at a fair price but, if we still have him, there's another claimer for him in Sligo the week after Galway.
"Dylan's father John owns part of him and wasn't able to be here today. He's mad keen to have a photo on the mantelpiece of himself and Dylan after a winner, so hopefully that might happen at Sligo!"
There was one successful claim. Santa Caterina was claimed for 5k by Clare Ellam to be trained by Paul Gilligan.
Additional reporting by Mark Nunan
