Verhoyen hits the line under Rory Cleary© Photo Healy Racing
Michael Grassick's Verhoyen blitzed his rivals in the valuable Scurry Handicap as those drawn low dominated throughout.
He blasted away from stall eight and soon grabbed the lead under Rory Cleary as the field separated into two along the far side and down the stands' side.
The far side (low-drawn horses) held the advantage as Verhoyen led past the halfway stage with stablemate Texas Rock in close pursuit.
Verhoyen was ridden by Rory Cleary with the pair there to be shot at entering the final furlong but they stuck to their task well to fend off the closing Buffer Zone (drawn four).
The 14/1 chance beat the 6/1 shot by three quarters of a length. Ice Cold In Alex was best of the stands' side runners in third at 13/2. He beat fourth-placed Intisaab (7/1) by a head.
“I actually wasn't going to run him because everywhere else was getting rain yesterday. I thought it wasn't going to arrive here but luckily there was 7mm last night which kept it good and let me run him,” said Michael Grassick.
“Rory was very positive on him and I was surprised how well he stuck at it.
“I thought the draw was going to favour the stands' side but I said 'just go straight' as there was no point trying to come over.
“The stands' side were a long way back at the junction. I just didn't see any pace in the race and said to my jockeys 'both of you help each other out' as they both like to be handy.
“I'm surprised how well he stuck at it but he's well handicapped from what he's doing at home and on his two-year-old form in the Listed race.
“He's shown a level of ability but just hasn't been consistent. He just lost his way a bit last year but sometimes you see that with sprinters as three-year-olds.
“The Bold Lad could be a target for him. He only ran on Wednesday night so I'll give him a couple of easy weeks now. He deserves it.
“This would be my biggest winner in terms of prize-money but Texas Rock won two Listed races.
“It's only my second winner of the year and he's won the two races. I've just no horses, I need horses!”
Verhoyen availed of joint-bottom-weight of 8st 4lb in this 125,000 euro contest. The winning share was 73,750 euro.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
