Patience pays off with Beckistine Top-weight Beckistine knuckled down late on to land the spoils in the Lisadell Equine Hospital 110 Series Final Handicap Hurdle at Navan. There were plenty in with chances between the last two flights in the €25,000 contest but the eye was drawn to Mark Molloy’s charge on the outer travelling well. He battled it out with Dairy Force from the last hurdle and got on top in the closing stages to post a half-length success under Mark Walsh. The 7/2 joint favourite, a winner at Limerick last month, had been backed from 6/1 this morning. Molloy said: "Mark Walsh gave him a super ride. "We have had to be very patient. He's a home-bred and we’ve always liked him, but he was always physically struggling a little bit. He had a fall a while ago (Limerick, January 2025) and that set him back. "Hopefully, he is going the right way now. He has won two handicaps and has won off 113, so hopefully he will keep going the right way. "For its level, it was a deep race. "It is also a lot of fun for me because I actually trained the grandmother and I gave away the dam to a young lady who worked for me at the time - she was with me for 13 years - and she kept it as a riding horse. “I said to her, 'why don't we breed one foal?'. This is the only foal the mare ever had. The lady in question, Rebecca Wren, was with me for 13 years and helped foal mares, rode out racehorses, and taught guests. She was a big part of the team, so that is where the name came from. "I targeted this and I really want to thank Feidhlim Cunningham of the trainers' association (IRTA), and HRI who came together for this initiative in this final. I think it is wonderful to have a '110' final on a wonderful day at Navan like this is great. This is what it is all about, so delighted." "Maybe something at Christmas (next)." (Quotes by Michael Graham)
