The Little Yank a significant winner for Aherne John Ryan was very keen on The Little Yank's chances in the nightcap at Clonmel, when he was interviewed earlier in the day, and his faith proved well founded to the tune of 14/1. The remarkable 11-year-old gelding was having his 101st race under rules and brought up his eighth victory. He travelled well for John Aherne with a slight lead entering the straight and although the challengers were in the hunt over the last, he dug deep to see it out by half a length from 14/1 Coffeys Forge (who made a bad mistake at the last) with Hello Johnjoe another three-quarters of a length back in third at 12/1. Ryan said: "It is great for John Aherne, and The Little Yank is a bit of a legend. He got a very bad fall one year at Listowel which ruined him, but he appears to be coming back to his best and is well handicapped if he does so. "He won two bumpers, was a proper horse and Fr Shane Casey (part-owner) loves running him and my daughter Gillian is the horse's other owner. "He has come back down to a winnable mark recently and we're looking forward to the summer now. He beat Ash Tree Meadow (Galway Plate winner) by nine lengths once, is a proper little horse, and not too many win over €180,000 in prize money like him." Aherne added: "That's my first winner since turning professional and fourth altogether. I turned last summer, but got injured twice during the season. "A big thanks to John and the team." Additional reporting by Tom Weekes
