Love Me Tender off the mark over fences on second attempt A beaten favourite on his chasing debut at the Galway Festival, Love Me Tender stepped forward from that effort to run out an easy winner of the Thorn Plant Hire Beginners Chase at Listowel. Tracking the leaders under Harry Cobden, the Willie Mullins trained gelding went second in chase of front running Will Do after the third last. Moving up to close approaching the penultimate fence, the JP McManus owned 8/13f led at the last before forging clear for an effortless five-and-a-half length verdict over I Will Be Baie. Willie Mullins said: "he did it very well and I loved the way he was like a cat, dancing in front of the fences and jumping them the way he wanted. It looked as though Harry was just a passenger, and he actually said the same thing. "In Galway he was keen but today he learned his lesson and backed off the fences and jumped them when he wanted. He learned from the first day and it was a nice performance. "He could be a Drinmore horse in early December as he looked to have that ability today. He doesn't look like a mid-winter type but it is always drier in Fairyhouse, where the ground is like all the festival courses nowadays. We seem to race on really nicer ground now, due to drainage and everything at these tracks." He added "I Will Be Baie (runner-up) came from off the pace and stayed on well, so he has a good outlook." (Quotes by Thomas Weekes).
