Well-bred Passenger outclasses his rivals Trained by Dermot Weld and carrying the colours of his son Kris, Passenger outclassed nine rivals in the concluding Racing Again August 14th INH Flat Race. An encouraging sixth of 20 on debut at Punchestown last summer, the well-bred six-year-old was then out of action for almost seven months, finishing third on his return in a bumper at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day. Returned the 2/1 favourite (from 11/4) this afternoon, the Invincible Spirit bay raced in mid-division under Finian Maguire, taking closer order with over half-a-mile to go. Travelling best from early in the straight, he was pushed along to lead from the furlong pole and quickly increased his advantage, coming home four-and-a-quarter lengths to the good. A 9/4 chance (from 15/2 early), St Lawrence's Gap filled the runner-up spot under Declan Queally, while Crossroads (14/1) was another five-lengths away in third. "He is a lovely horse, is one we've always liked and is from a great family so it's a win which means a lot to me," the winning owner reflected. "I've grown up with the horse's family going back to In Anticipation (great granddam) and Homeless Songs and he is from a wonderful nursery. I'm delighted to get a winner from this family. "He was bred to win a Derby but that wasn't going to happen. He was backward, has taken a while to come to himself and I have him for a while. "The ground went heavy after his previous run in January so I decided to give him a break for the spring and while I had him ready for a bumper in April, they changed the race conditions and he wasn't eligible. We then waited for either Galway or here. "Finny is keen to ride him again so we might look to Listowel and Chris Hayes is keen to ride him on the Flat as well, so we'll talk to Dad and make a plan." Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
