Foley earns his fee as Love Billy Boy gets up late Having caught the eye on both starts since joining current connections, the Gerard O'Leary trained Love Billy Boy recorded a first Irish success when winning the Family Fun Day May 18th Handicap at Naas. Narrowly denied at the Curragh on the opening day of the season, the four-year-old didn't enjoy much luck in running when down the field at this track last time. Sent off 9/2 to gain a first win for O'Leary, the gelding had to work harder than expected before eventually getting up for a narrow success. Tracking the pace on the stands side, as Little Queenie and Cuban Grey led, Shane Foley was hard at work over two furlongs from the finish. Switching into the centre of the track a furlong out, Love Billy Boy stayed on strongly inside the final furlong to get up to beat Moltophino a neck. Ger O’Leary said: “It was a lovely ride by Shane. “He was unlucky in the Curragh the first day on very soft ground and the last day he just got stuck in it — Shane said it was a bit of a gluepot. Today he said he just got away with six furlongs on that ground. “I’d say seven furlongs on good and six furlongs on soft. He said there is a nice pot in him. “It’s great to get that and it’s a first winner of the year for the Purosangue Syndicate. “He won in Chester last year, so we’ll aim for there.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
