Time And Times and Johnny Barry recover from a mistake at the last© Photo Healy Racing
Time And Times provided Declan McNamara with a welcome change of fortune when taking the CIT Cream Of The Crop (Q.R.) Handicap Hurdle at Cork.
The Co. Clare trainer is best known for his handling of star hunter chaser Mossey Joe, and that gelding provided him with his last winner under rules nearly four years ago.
Time And Times had shown some promise in bumpers last summer, and didn’t go unnoticed in the market here at 6/1.
The Yeats gelding led early in the straight and was about three lengths clear when making a mistake at the last.
This gave Conna Cross the opportunity to briefly get back in front on the run-in but Time And Times rallied strongly for Johnny Barry in the closing stages to prevail by three quarters of a length. King Blue was two and a quarter lengths further back in third, while there was a yawning gap of 34 lengths back to the fourth.
