Winner for Ronan Whelan© Photo Healy Racing
Kampala Beach got a lovely run up the rail to make it third time lucky on his visits to Leopardstown, when claiming the first division of tonight's nine furlong handicap.
Ronan Whelan made a move for the inner over a furlong from home on the Belardo gelding, trained by Michael Halford and Tracey Collins.
The 11/1 shot got his head in front 150 yards from home and was nicely on top at the line to record a length-and-a-quarter win over Final Check
Halford said:- “It's his third visit here but he had very wide draws the other days and it didn't work out for him.
“Horses in that bracket generally need things to go right for them and having a good draw was ideal for him. He got a lovely run around and it opened up in the straight for him.
“I'm delighted for Mark Phelan who is a great supporter of racing. He had a good winner in Galway with Dermot's horses Coeur D'or. He's had horses with us for a long time and I'm delighted to get him a winner.
“That sort of trip, or even another furlong wouldn't worry him too much and just the good ground.
“He won at Dundalk so he'll go back there but we always felt he was up to winning on the turf.
“He got a lovely run through tonight.”
