NA TRACHTALAI ABU (centre) and jockey Jonathan Burke win the Axa Smart Farm Insurance Midlands National Handicap Chase© Photo Healy Racing
There was plenty of drama in the featured AXA Smart Farm Insurance Midlands National Handicap Chase at Kilbeggan, with Barra coming down at the final fence when holding a healthy advantage. Na Trachtalai Abu (12/1) and Johnny Burke were left in front, and just lasted home to land this big prize by a neck and half a length from the J.P. Mc Manus pair Tesseract and Oscar Knight
It was a fifth career success for the nine-year-old, who’d gone close in the Munster National at Limerick last season. Winning trainer James Motherway remarked afterwards" We'll take all the luck we can get!
Johnny came back in and said he wasn't happy with him early on and that he wasn't really going.
“I thought that myself and I'd say the ground was plenty slow enough for him. I was half cursing the rain coming up.
“He said he chanced it away down the inner. He said he kept tipping and tipping and his jumping kept him in it.
It's hard on Gigginstown with the faller at the last but this horse deserved a big pot as he's been knocking on the door for the past couple of years. I'm thrilled for him.
“I'm delighted for the owners Robcour, Brian Acheson, and his son Rob is here tonight to pick up the trophy. They've been brilliant to me, just fantastic supporters.
“It's a mighty pot. We came here last year and I blame myself for using the wrong tactics. We tried to ride him handy and it backfired as he ran too keen.
“I said to Johnny to drop in, take your time and ride your own race. In fairness to him he gave him a peach.
“The plan was to go to the Galway Blazers after here. He's not in the Plate as he's not rated high enough at the moment to get into it. We'll see if he comes out of this okay, the plan would be to go to the Blazers.”
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
