Pretty Smart and Conor Hoban (black and white) win from Eleuthera (red and yellow)© Photo Healy Racing
Pretty Smart (5/1) and the 11/4 favourite Eleuthera had a good tussle over the final furlong and a half of the concluding 45-65 rated Rathkenny Handicap over 5f, and it was the former who prevailed by three quarters of a length.
This was a first win on Turf for the 4-y-o Dandy Man filly, who scored at Dundalk last autumn, and she’d run well on her reappearance at Fairyhouse before finishing unplaced last week at Sligo.
Conor Hoban had been on board for that previous victory, and this was a first winner of the season for the hard-working Mayo man.
Winning trainer Pat Martin said: “She's not normally one I'd like to take out quick, and Sligo was only a week ago, but we haven't ridden her out and she's just swam.
“She's been eating good and we felt she was well. Conor liked the look of this race from the entry stage.
“The ease in the ground helps her and I think we'll probably stick to sprinting with her. We've been trying to get her to relax and go six but she over-raced at Sligo and it was the wrong track with hindsight.
“That was kind of what we hoped she could do. She battled very well as I thought the runner-up was going better than us at the furlong marker but she kept at it well.
“She's always showed us a bit. She's a half-sister to Aspen Belle (six-time winner) and if she can do as well as her we'd be delighted but she has a long way to go to catch up with her.”
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
