City Island © Photo Healy Racing
City Island looks an exciting prospect for Martin Brassil after making a stylish winning debut over jumps in the opening The Win Big With Tote Maiden Hurdle at Galway this afternoon.
The Court Cave gelding was having only his third career start in the two-mile five-furlong contest and proved easy to back, returning 10/1 having been 11/2 this morning.
Mark Walsh tracked the leaders before moving through to follow 9/10 Debuchet as he hit the front going to the second last.
City Island claimed the lead before the final flight and kept on strongly on the run-in to post three-and-a-quarter length verdict as Getareason stayed on into the runner-up spot.
The winner had claimed a bumper at Punchestown on his second start back in mid-May.
“He's a nice horse. He was a bit weak last year. We gave him his first run in the unraced bumper at the Punchestown festival and he ran very well to be second and followed up there after that,” said Brassil.
“He's strengthened up since then and had a couple of schooling hurdles before he ran in bumpers so it was always going to be a help to him today. You need to know you job going around here.
“Mark gave him a lovely trouble free ride, no complications, and kept him out of trouble.
“I was hopeful that he might progress. It's probably not the ideal place to start a horse off over hurdles, in the company he was in, but I thought a bit of him and Sean and Bernardine (Mulryan) like to have a runner or two in Galway with a chance.
“He's the best young horse I've had in quite a while. He might get us somewhere bigger and better. Everyone thinks there is nowhere better than Galway but there is!
“We've just thought about today after Punchestown and we'll make a plan after that. He might want to go to Listowel. He likes that meeting too and there is a novice there. We'll let the horse tell us.”
When asked if he would handle winter ground Brassil responded: “No, that's probably as slow as he wants although he's getting older and stronger now and will probably handle it better than he would have in the month of March so who knows. He's a good staying type of horse anyway.”
Mark Walsh added:- "It was a good performance by a horse having his first run over hurdles.
“Debuchet is a 140 rated horse and you don't usually meet those in a summer maiden hurdle. He's done it well and they will always be well schooled coming out of Martin's.
"He was just a bit green in front at the last but once the other horse came he kept at it. It's one of the best maidens run so far this summer so it will be interesting to see what he does now in novice company.
"It's yielding to soft but we're on old ground so its a bit churned up. It's no worse than summer soft in places."
(Additional reporting by Alan Magee)
