Aspurofthemoment proves versatility with Lord Hemphill win The Gavin Cromwell trained Aspurofthemoment came through to lead close home under Kevin Sexton when snugly landing the Lord Hemphill Memorial Handicap Chase at Galway. A former point-to-point winner, the gelding made an immediate impact on his stable debut when successful over two-miles at Gowran Park over hurdles back in January. Stepping up to three-miles to score at Bellewstown next time, the six-year-old then landed his Beginners Chase over two-and-a-half-miles at Kilbeggan. Showing further versatility here, the 7/1 chance made a winning start to life in handicap chase company, when coming through from the rear of the field to head Arctic Fly on the run-in for a comfortable three-quarter-length victory. "Obviously he lacked a bit of experience. I followed them around and, he jumped great. I was lucky to avoid the few fallers because they fell right beside me. "In fairness to him, the further he went, the better he was going. He obviously wants a bit further. The race probably fell apart and, he picked it up." Stable representative Troy Cullen added: “He’s a grand horse and will probably be better when he steps up in trip. Hopefully he’ll keep on improving as the season goes on. “They were going fast enough for him early on and maybe being a stayer, they went a little too fast and the pace didn’t hold up. They stopped going up the hill. “We were hopeful but thought the trip might be a little too short but on the that ground probably helped him and they came back to him.” Kevin Sexton has been riding out for Gavin Cromwell since last autumn and this was his first winner for the yard. Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
