Murphy's Moudan lands valuable Ayr prize Ciaran Murphy's Moudan registered the biggest success of his career to date, as he comfortably dismissed six rivals in the opener at Ayr this afternoon, the Scotty Brand Handicap Chase. Registering his second success of the season at Navan on his penultimate start, the Mount Nelson seven-year-old filled the runner-up spot when last seen at Fairyhouse over Easter. Owned and bred by Pat McCormack and sent off a 4/1 chance today, the likeable bay made smooth headway to lead before three out. Soon skipping clear under Sean Bowen, he ultimately eased to an 11-length win, with Gavin Cromwell's French import Le Nez Creux filling the runner-up spot. "It's 13 days since he last ran and he's come here on the back of a very good run at Fairyhouse. The ground was probably a little bit better than he'd like that day," Murphy, speaking on ITV Racing, commented. "Myself and Mark (Boylan) walked the track today and couldn't have been happier to be honest. He loves that heavy ground. Mark said after Fairyhouse that we should have a crack at this, it's a 75 grand race and there is a chance we'll get our ground. We made this the priority then and it's worked out really well." Giving viewers an insight into his Westmeath setup, Murphy added: "We had our best year ever last year with 20 plus winners from a small string. We have 80 boxes and they'd be full most of the time. We have 40 to 50 to run, half and half, Flat and National Hunt. "We have more two-year-olds this year, we have about 15. We've stuck out our neck and invested and owners have got behind us. We have a few nice Flat horses there and we've a few nice young National Hunt horses coming through. "It's competitive in Ireland and we are aware of what we are able to buy and compete against, but with the help of Mark we place them as best as we can."
