Well Why Not leads home Night Of Power in Navan© Photo Healy Racing
Well Why Not rallied to great effect in the closing stages of the 10 furlong handicap at Navan.
The grey filly took the six-runner field along but was pushed along sweeping past the three pole. Night Of Power loomed large on the outer of a ridden along Well Why Not a furlong and a half down and soon led narrowly.
However, Well Why Not dug deep for Chris Hayes and inched ahead in the final 100 yards before keeping on stoutly to score by a length.
She was the outsider of the sextet at 12/1 while Night Of Power went off 11/8 favourite.
Chris Hayes said: "She had quite a good run the other day in a Leopardstown maiden and finished sixth and got put up 10lbs for it. When I got off her I just said to Adrian 'you want to get her out again quick before the handicapper sees how well she ran'. But he put her up the 10lbs the following morning when the entries were done!
"It got her into the race. I didn't think there was much pace in it so with a nice light weight on her back we said we would make plenty of use of it. She wasn't doing a whole pile in front till Niall (McCullagh on Night Of Power) came. Niall's one seemed to have a little look and it gave my one a bit of a chance and the heart to get back at him. She won well in the end."
Handler Adrian McAllister added: “Chris rode her at Leopardstown on Monday where she finished sixth and he jumped off and said run her at Navan on Sunday and I’ll win on her.
“So it’s down to Chris as if it was up to me I wouldn’t have run her. He thinks she’ll get further so we’ll be looking for a race in the next two or three weeks over a mile and a half.
“She got 10lb on Monday for finishing sixth which was a bit mad but we were lucky enough it paid off today. It doesn’t normally work like that.”
Additional reporting by Alan Magee
