Vallis digs deep for bumper win Leonard Vallis got the better of Thinkitdontjinxit in a driving finish to the concluding John Thomas McNamara Series bumper at Thurles this afternoon. Thinkitdontjinxit made most of the running in the two-miler and nicked a couple of lengths on his rival turning for home. The Terence O’Brien-trained Leonard Vallis gave chase in the straight and stuck to his guns to challenge inside the final furlong. Darragh Allen had a willing mount as the Doctor Dino gelding got on top in the closing stages for a length-and-a-half success. The 10/1 winner had been runner-up over hurdles on his debut at Gowran but finished last of ten when last seen in a Navan bumper in November. "I can't say I was overly confident as while his first run was better that I had expected of him, he then ran terribly at Navan,” admitted O’Brien. “I had a very lean spell with horses for two months around that time as they were scoping wrong but things have turned around in the past few weeks. "I wasn't sure of today's extreme ground but he delivered on the potential of his first run, and he'll be a smashing horse going forwards." (Quotes by Tom Weekes)
