Lovely double for Cromwell The Lovely Man stayed on best at the end of a gruelling contest for the Adare Manor Opportunity Handicap Hurdle, to give Gavin Cromwell a quick double at Gowran Park this afternoon. Eoin Staples took closer order on the 11/2 shot and he pressed the leaders over the second-last in the two mile seven-and-a-half furlong contest. The Mastercraftsman gelding was driven into the lead at the last flight and kept on stoutly on the run-in to post a length-and-a-quarter win over 50/1 outsider Ontheropes. The winner had won over fences, off the same mark of 114, at Navan last month. "An hour is a long time in racing!’ said Cromwell. "Heavy ground is very important to him and, to be fair, he jumped so well over fences the last day that I thought he was a far better chaser than hurdler." Regarding his stable form he added:- "There was definitely a period when my horses were out of form, but I had a lot of moderate and badly handicapped ones too, which probably made everything look a lot worse. "We didn't get to re-stock like you'd love to for this season and last year we were so lucky to win big handicaps, when everything fell into place. “We had the first three home in the Dan Moore Chase last year, but those same horses ran again this year when they were badly handicapped. That's the nature of the game." (Quotes by Tom Weekes)
