Friend gives Cusack early birthday present Desert Friend powered clear in the closing stages to run out a cosy winner of the Tote.ie Apprentice Handicap at Sligo. Conor Cusack tucked in behind the leaders on the Pat Murphy-trained gelding in the early stages of the mile-six contest before moving up to challenge three furlongs from home. The 15/2 shot hit the lead after the road crossing and asserted passing the furlong marker for a comprehensive seven-length success over You Make Me Smile. It was a ninth career victory for the Universal gelding and his second since joining Murphy. The winning trainer was leading up and Cusack said:- "They were going a good gallop early on, and there's a bit of cut in the ground, so I was happy to take back. "He's an old horse now, so I wanted to keep him happy and on the bridle for as long as possible, and he carried me nicely through the race. Once I got him rolling, he did it well. "Dundalk has been a good learning curve for me over the winter, you get to know how to judge pace over different distances here. "I'm in fifth-year in school in Waterford and I am in Henry de Bromhead's yard as well. It's my eighteenth birthday on Wednesday." (Quotes by Mark Nunan)
