Verhoyen retired after game Laytown success The 11-year-old Verhoyen brought his career close when landing the Gilna’s Of Laytown Handicap this afternoon. Billy Lee opened up a four-winner lead (72-68) over Colin Keane in the jockeys’ championship as the very well-supported 9/2 chance held off the late challenge of Ado McGuinness’ 11/4 joint-favourite Moyassr by a nose, and then survived a lengthy stewards’ enquiry. The winner, owned in partnership by Paul Cullen, Joe Keeling and trainer Michael Grassick, was recording his ninth career success and his first since July 2024. He won his first race as a three-year-old at Dundalk in March 2018, again with Billy Lee in the saddle. Grassick commented, “We are going to retire him now, retire him on a high. He was a Scurry winner (as a four-year-old in 2019) and black-type as a two-year-old. He is for life with us. "He has come down in the ratings and one thing is that he loves the beach. He was always too highly rated to run here. With age though, he has just fallen down. "I was worried earlier in the year that I was going to struggle to win (again) with him. He just wasn't performing the way he was working at home. "He stuck at it well." Additional reporting by Michael Graham
