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Croke trains first Irish winner

A bird's eye view of My Betty (far side) and Mark BolgerA bird's eye view of My Betty (far side) and Mark Bolger
© Healy Racing Photos

Co Wicklow based trainer Peter Croke registered his first Irish winner at Wexford today when his My Betty , previously successful under Sir Tony McCoy, landed the Euro 2016 Betting At 188BET Mares Beginners Chase.

My Betty was steered to victory on her only previous win by McCoy in a Southwell maiden hurdle in 2014 and was today partnered by Mark Bolger, with the daughter of Definite Article scoring by two and three parts of a length over Isabella Liberty .

Following the win, Croke stated “this is my first winner in Ireland and Tony McCoy won on her in England. I just want to say a big thanks to her owner Maurice Sheehy who is a good supporter of mine.

"I have three or four for the track and a few point-to-pointers for next year.

"She (My Betty) was always entitled to win a beginners, she had been knocking on the door against good horses, and she deserved that today.

"She will probably have a little break now for a couple of weeks. We will see how she is then and go back to the drawing board with her."

Croke's two previous racecourse winners were in Britain in the 2013/14 season.

By Tom Weekes, quotes from Donal Murphy