Sportinthepark takes advantage of favourable hurdle mark Sportinthepark overcame an 11-month absence to justify good support in the W.B. Gavin & Co Handicap Hurdle at Galway. The Noel Meade-trained gelding, who won the rated novice chase on this card last year, was well supported on track from 15/2 into 5/1 favourite and got a patient ride from Sam Ewing. The son of Walk In The Park made headway approaching the penultimate flight and struck the front early on the run-in before keeping on well to beat Grann’s Boy by three-quarters of a length with Ataboycharlie the same distance further back in third. Meade said, “The whole plan was obviously to go back chasing with him and the plan now is to go to the Troytown. "I didn't want to run him in today's earlier chase as if he won he'd have risked picking up a penalty, so I said we might as well have a run over hurdles where he is rated 15lb lower. "He had a setback after his last run and when I got him back later in the season, it was too late to run. He has grown up, matured and grown a lot stronger as he had been a big shell of a horse. "His owner Philip Polly is in Dubai so hopefully he is watching on TV." Quotes by Tom Weekes
