Counting Coup foils Taipan's hat-trick bid

Galway's concluding conditions race over one mile, six furlongs produced a thrilling finish as Counting Coup (11/1) narrowly denied Taipan a third successive victory in the race.

Having made all in the previous two renewals, Shene Foley set out to do so again on Taipan with the eventual winner sitting second under Leigh Roche.

Counting Coup, a Down Royal maiden winner in June before finishing fourth in a Listed contest at Roscommon, hit the front early in the straight and went half a length up, but Taipan rallied gamely and the pair flashed past the post locked together.

The photograph showed that Counting Coup was up by a nose.

"I actually thought we were done, and then I saw the replay and I felt we were up," said winning trainer Maurice Ahern.

"He's tough. I was training him for the GPT (Connacht Hotel Amateur Handicap), but I got a phone call last Friday to say he wasn't qualified because he hadn't had three runs on the Flat, so went for this. A bit of a difference in pots!

"I was shocked when I saw the price (20/1) this morning. We made it pay well anyway!

"It's only his fourth run. Jumping will be his game but we'll try and steal a big pot before we go jumping with him. I entered him in a Group 3 in the Curragh on August 22nd but it could be a bit too hot. It was closing so I threw him into it.

"He's a proper horse, the real deal."

Additional reporting by John O' Riordan