Lady Olwyn (Ger Fox) leads eventual winner Forever Gold (Phillip Enright) over the last© Photo Healy Racing
Forever Gold was confidently expected to break his duck under Rules at the seventeenth time of asking in the Follow Us On Twitter Handicap Chase. He duly got the job done in the finale at Roscommon.
The 11/8 favourite had ground to make on 16/1 chance Lady Olwyn in the straight.
A doughty stayer, the Gold Well gelding, aided by first-time cheek-pieces, closed down the mare (cheek-pieces on for the initial occasion too) from before the last.
However he wasn't fluent here. To his credit he found what was required on the run-in to come again and get up close home to score by three parts of a length under Phillip Enright.
County Meath-based, Sligo-native Eddie Cawley, owns, trains and bred Forever Gold and he acknowledged: "It wasn't the strongest contest he has run in and if you take his last couple of runs there was no comparison.
"Compared to Fairyhouse and Leopardstown I felt this was a much easier contest - on paper anyway.
"He's not un-genuine but he always finds a flat spot in his races.
"We put the cheek-pieces on him today and as Phillip said that means we should keep them on him from here on in. Up the straight Phillip said they definitely helped.
"He's a great jumper – you can trust him to do that. Let's hope we can pick up another one." (DM & EM)
