Hightimeyouwon is another for Thorne & Kearney Stephen Thorne and Jack Kearney combined for a third win in the space of nine days, as they struck with Hightimeyouwon in the Blackwater Apprentice Handicap. By far the oldest runner in the line-up, the admirable nine-year-old was providing Thorne with a third straight win. Racing in third, the now 11-time winner was pushed along from the two-furlong pole and challenged in second inside the final 200 yards. Getting by the front-running Ribchestina (8s from 14/1) in the closing stages, there was half-a-length between them at the line. Available at 6s in early shows for this seven-furlong contest, the winner was eventually returned an 11/4 joint-favourite, sharing his position at the head of the market with Bucaneer's Spirit, with this one finishing fourth. "He has been a rockstar for me and Jack Kearney is four-from-four on him, so they have struck up a great relationship," Thorne said of the Shamrock Thoroughbreds-owned victor. "We ran him in the claimer in Dundalk the last day and stepped him up to ten furlongs in order to win the winter trainers' title, so he was very important and was part of our treble. "He is very versatile, is a previous winner of a Mallow Handicap and I'm very proud he retains so much ability for his age. Hopefully there is plenty more left in him and he is still full of life. "We will either head back here for the Mallow Handicap or to Leopardstown on June 5th." Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
