Massini's Trap jumps the last alongside Super Cloud© Photo Healy Racing
After finishing third on his last start over the course and distance, Massini’s Trap went two places better this evening as he took the Costello McDermott Maiden Hurdle for trainer James Nash.
The four-year-old son of Dr Massini caught the attention of the Stewards on his last outing, and they suspended his then rider, Thomas Doran, for a massive fifty days as he was adjudged to have 'failed to take reasonable and permissible measures throughout the race to obtain his best possible place'.
With Ruby Walsh on board this evening, the bookies weren’t taking any chances, and he was installed at 8/11 with Paddy Power this morning.
He opened at evens on-course and after touching 11/10 and 10/11, he went off the even money favourite.
Settled in mid-division, he was fourth on the inner approaching the straight, and he had to be switched to the outside before the final flight.
Despite landing clumsily over the last, he got going on the run-in, keeping on best to score by a length and a half. Lady Bennett ran a fine race on her hurdling debut to finish second under David Casey for Charlie Swan at 5/1, while the front-running Alileo was a length and a half back in third for Willie and Emmett Mullins at 2/1.
James Nash said afterwards: "His first run in a maiden at Leopardstown was unbelievable (finished second to Unanimous in July of last year), but he absolutely went downhill after that.
"He obviously had the form to win today, judging by his last run, but I was just afraid after what happen after Leopardstown.
"He has always shown an awful lot of pace and we probably shouldn’t have ever run him on the flat as he is by Dr Massini.
"We will find a winners race for him now and he wants ground good.
"He is owned by Sebastian Curran who is twenty. He also bred him and his father owns one of our better horses, Star Of Aragon.
"I feel sorry for Tom (Thomas Doran) today. He would have rode him tonight only for what happened the last day.
"He got things wrong and I think he was very hard done by on what was just his fourth ride."
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
