King High and Davy Russell are clear at the last© Photo Healy Racing
King High landed the Richard Power Private Client Betting Handicap Hurdle, the final day highlight at the Tramore Festival, for the second successive year with an impressive victory.
Eoin Doyle produced the now ten-year-old gelding to win this 12 months ago on the back of an outing at the track the previous day, and he repeated the feat here as the 13/2 winner was a staying on fifth on the Flat here yesterday evening. Decade Player set a decent pace in the two-miler but was swallowed up at the penultimate flight, where King High came away the leader.
Davy Russell, completing a double on the afternoon having earlier scored on Gusty Rocky quickly sent his mount clear and he kept on strongly to beat Goal by five and a half lengths.
The winner’s stablemate Roman Numeral was a further three quarters of a length back in third.
King High has now won four times at the seaside venue (career tally of nine wins) having won twice over fences back in 2010, and this was Doyle’s third winner at the meeting
Doyle said, “He’s a right auld servant, and that was kind of the plan for him all along. He ran here last night and he ran a blinder, he missed the break but he flew home and I suppose it left him right for today.
“Davy said it was never in doubt after he got a run up the rail, he said he was a winner halfway down the hill. If we had more like him it would be an easy job.
“He’s ten now but he still holds a fair bit of ability. He is in the sales at Doncaster, maybe the owners will change their mind now but they might just want a fresher horse.
“I still think there is a day in him on the flat off his mark over two miles."
(AM & DM)
