Thornton and Harvey on the mark again with Rich Belief Karl Thornton and Ben Harvey, who successfully teamed up with A Year Older at Limerick last week, combined again as Rich Belief bridged a gap of nearly two years without a win in the Wexford Claiming Hurdle. The Ivan Keeling-owned gelding was recording an eighth career win and was ridden to lead approaching the last before driven out by Harvey to beat Oh So Charming by two and three-quarter lengths. Warm In Gorey made most of the running but was headed before making a mistake at the last and dropped back to finish a further six lengths away in third. Thornton, saddling his third winner in the past week, said: “He’s only had four runs over hurdles since he won a good pot in Kelso. “Every year he’d win on the Flat. He was never going down but he’d just improve a little bit to win. You could set your clock by him as he’d always win once a year. “He’s getting a bit older and I’d said I’d chance it. I don’t like running in claimers but he’s at that age and going back to a handicap he’s going to be in no man’s land. “He enjoyed that and when he’s enjoying things he can do it very easy. These races give those older horses a chance of going and doing something again. “The fact that he had a couple of runs on the Flat, going back over hurdles then he’s just that bit sharper. He travelled a bit easier in the race. I’m delighted with him.” There were no claims for any of the nine runners. Quotes by Gary Carson
