Mason takes Leopardstown bumper for Cork connections There was a Co Cork success in the last at Leopardstown as Barnahash Mason (16s into 11/1 before the off) won the Paddy Power The Flat One Flat Race. The homebred son of Sandmason, fifth in a Thurles maiden hurdle on his only previous outing, is trained by Jonathan Sweeney for his father John and was ridden by Alan O'Sullivan. Never far off a steady pace, the five-year-old disputed the lead half-a-mile out and led entering the straight. He was pursued in the final furlong by 50/1 outsider Muckanagh Lough and stayed on well to foil that rival by a length and three-quarters. The Elliott and Mullins runners at the head of the market, Generous Risk and Arcadian Emperor, finished this and fourth respectively. Trainer Sweeney said of his winner "He had a nice run and has improved and come forward. I’m delighted and he’s done it well. “I was worried that they would go too slow and he’d get caught in a sprint. He’s a lazy, unassuming type but he wasn’t for catching there anyway. “I’d imagine he’ll go back over hurdles. He jumps well and jumps a fence well. He was schooled to go point-to-pointing. “He’d have no bother staying three miles, and Alan said he had a job pulling him up after the line.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee
