Starford appreciates trip and ground on handicap debut Starford made a winning start in handicap company at Gowran Park today when taking the apprentice race under Wayne Hassett. The Joseph O’Brien-trained gelding stepped up to nine furlongs this afternoon having finished mid-division in a six furlong maiden at Cork last time. He was produced to challenge a furlong-and-a-half from home and got on top in the closing stages to beat Onemoredance by three-parts-of-a-length. The 5/1 winner brought up a double for owners Newtown Anner Stud, who had also landed the feature event with Declaree. “I think he appreciated the juice in the ground today and the small field,” said O’Brien. “I was very happy to see him win and he’s hopefully a horse that can progress. “He was a bit inexperienced and we tried a few different trips with him. That’s probably a nice trip for him. “The dam handled soft ground well so we thought he might handle that today.”
