John La Bear scores for O’Sullivan & O’Connor John La Bear (4/1) overcame his wide drawn to win Dundalk’s Christmas Party Nights At Dundalk Stadium Nursery today, scoring for jockey Donagh O’Connor and trainer Ross O’Sullivan. The maiden son of Kuroshio had finished fourth on each of his previous two starts and in today’s race, raced wide in mid-field, having been drawn wide in 10. John Le Bear eventually led inside the final furlong and finished well for a 1.25 lengths win over Mo Anam Chara . Regarding the Eugene Brennan & Black Gold Syndicate-owned winner, jockey O'Connor said "The wide trip wasn't ideal, but this horse is all guts. He is very, very hardy and tough and got me out of trouble. "I was kind of cursing halfway around the bend as having jumped well, Ronan (Whelan, Mo Anam Chara) was then in my spot and when I went to take back, lads had already picked up. He's tough and he gets that trip well. "Dusty (Shane Foley, previous jockey) was fairly positive about him, I was talking to him before the race and he said 'even if you are caught wide, you are better off going forward than taking back'. He said if he had his time back, he would have done that (when finishing fourth last month). "He's not overly big, but he's all heart. He hopped off that surface, so they will have more fun with him hopefully." Quotes from Michael Graham
