Ffrench Lords it over Sligo maiden rivals Phillip Enright delivered the Sam Curling trained Lord Ffrench with a well judged ride from off the pace to win the Mulhern Leonard Chartered Accountants Maiden Hurdle at Sligo. Having shown promise in his bumpers and, on hurdling debut last time, the five-year-old was well supported from 4/1 into 13/8f to open his account. Confidently ridden by Enright, the gelding moved third after the penultimate flight, before coming through to challenge Luck Between Us at the last. Despite the latter producing the better jump at that obstacle, Lord Ffrench led early on the run-in, staying on nicely to win by one-and-a-quarter lengths. “He had good bumper form and he’s been very unlucky, he got knocked down the last day he ran and had been a bit keen a few days but he settled well there today,” said Curling. “It wasn’t much of a race but he did it well. “He was only a couple of lengths behind David Pipe’s horse (Windbeneathmywings) first time out. “Hopefully he’ll go forward. He’s in on the Flat next week and will probably go there, he’s a Flat-bred kind of a horse - he’s a handy little lad. It’s great that he’s won anyway.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson
