Flanagan hoping for clearer run with Respect Sean Flanagan is eyeing Irish Gold Cup compensation for Road To Respect following his luckless run at Leopardstown last month. Noel Meade’s stable star stumbled twice when defending his crown in the Savills Chase over the festive period, but recovered well to finish third. Although beaten nearly eight lengths by the impressive Kemboy, Flanagan believes Road To Respect may well have come out on top had he enjoyed a trouble-free run and hopes that theory will be borne out when he returns to Foxrock for Sunday’s Unibet-sponsored showpiece. “It’s hard to explain how unlucky he was. It was magnificent for him to finish third from where he came from, especially the way the race worked out as I was further back than I should have been,” Flanagan told the Irish Independent. “I didn’t get out quick enough, it was just one of those races that you just put a line through and go on again. “I was a very unlucky loser on the day.”
