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- Neville eyes Galway Plate for Portrait
Gary Carson
Neville eyes Galway Plate for Portrait
Shesaportrait
© Photo Healy Racing
Shesaportrait produced a fine front-running performance to come home a cosy winner of the concluding McSweeney Arms Hotel 65th Novice Chase at Killarney this evening.
It was a quick double for jockey Mark Enright as he bounced the 3/1 joint-favourite out in front in the 2m6f event and made every yard.
Her rivals were stacked up behind her turning for home but the Paddy Neville-trained mare asserted before the final fence and could afford to ease down in the closing stages to score by five-and-a-half lengths.
Horendus Hulabaloo who had given chase for much, held on for second from Railway Zira The other market leader Bridgets Pet finished a well-beaten fifth of the six runners.
Shesaportrait was following up her win in a mares chase at Limerick in May.
"She's a very good mare and we're lucky to have her and hopefully she'll get into the bottom (of the weights) of the Galway Plate," said Neville.
"I think a lot of her and at the start of the year was hoping to go for the Galway Plate but fellas were telling me I was mad!
"She had great form though and it has been holding up all the time and I just hope she is high enough to sneak into the Plate."
(Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes)