Tango on top in the Curragh's opener Trainer Pat Foley registered his biggest success in winning the Curragh’s opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Bold Lad Sprint on Champions Weekend today, as 50/1 chance Tango Flare improved two positions on last year’s third-placing. Owned by Ray McSharry and ridden by Luke McAteer, the six-year-old gelding was held up in rear-division and having been switched to challenge, powered home to score by a half-length from local-favourite Big Gossey (22/1). Foley, son of late trainer Tom Foley of Danoli fame, had previously bagged feature-race wins with chaser Rebel Gold and today improved on his previous best Flat result, which came with US-emigre Special Wan in a Kentucky Downs Allowance Race last September. Delighted Foley reported “we only have a handful of Flat horses in-training and are still know as a national hunt yard but I’d love to have another 10 or 20 Flat horses for the summer. You’d love to think that the likes of today shows people that we can do it. “I was very worried about the ground and if the forecast had been right, I’m not sure he would have run at all. He’s not the same on soft ground. He ran a cracker in it last year to finish third and was 8lb lighter this year. We were hoping he’d put his best foot forward and if he did, we thought he’d be thereabouts. “Six furlongs is his trip. He doesn’t get seven and he’s not sharp enough for five. He’s usually carrying top-weight and today was a lot different carrying 9st1lb.” Quotes from Alan Magee
