Philip Rothwell© Photo Healy Racing
Cheap As Chips belied her market position as the complete outsider in the eight-runner Michael O’Murchadha Memorial Novice Handicap Hurdle to record a clearcut victory at Wexford.
The 16/1 chance benefitted from an enterprising ride by claimer Andrew Ring, poaching about 15 lengths at the start and proceeding to make all the running.
The five-year-old mare had her rivals all hard at work turning into the straight, and kept on well for Ring to beat Speed Dial (7/2) by four and a half lengths with Shanroe Society (4/1) another three quarters of a length adrift in third.
Winning trainer Philip Rothwell said, “She’s a lovely filly and has been working well but heavy ground has been killing her. It was described as heavy again today but it’s not as bad as some of the ground she has been running on.
“Andrew got a very easy lead, and a 15 length lead around Wexford is hard to peg back. It was certainly an opportunistic ride, and she will be a lot better on better ground.”
