Norther battles to beginners success Norther Bay produced a gutsy performance to open his account over fences in the beginners chase at Down Royal. Barry Geraghty sent his mount to the front after the third last but he was strongly pressed at the final fence by So Determined. The pair settled down to fight it out on the run-in and it was Norther Bay who found more in the closing stages to record a length victory. "He stuck at it well. Barry suggested going two-and-a-half miles but I wasn't fully convinced to be honest as I thought he was an out-and-out two miler," admitted winning trainer Eoin Griffin afterwards. "Barry gave him a lovely ride. He can be very keen but we put ear plugs into him and he settled well. The slow pace helped as well. "I didn't think we'd be waiting this long to win a beginners chase. He's probably his own worst enemy because he's so keen. "He has run well in good company and hopefully can go on and build on this. Unfortunately he's a fast ground horse and we may run out of time with him. "We'll look and see what's in Listowel. After today we'll stick to two-and-a-half miles." Griffin also had a word about Baracas, beaten favourite in the earlier conditions hurdle. "It was a bit disappointing. After Galway we thought we'd found the key to him. "He's another horse that has a bit of a problem with being keen. He doesn't want to shorten up at his hurdles but when he meets them right he's great."
