Gospies Daughter likes Curragh Air
With Group 1 and Group 3 action down for decision, Sunday's Curragh card was brimful of interest and with Denis and Tom Hogan, as well as Andy Slattery, also having runners local punters had plenty to ponder on.
Gospies daughter has been a good servant to the former Denis Hoga. She is a course and distance winner and ran a corker when at the venue the previous Monday evening when just over a length off the winner in a six furlong handicap. She was obviously showing no ill effects of that race as Hogan decided to pull her out again in the five furlong 53-88 handicap and she landed some nice wagers when landing the spoils in the hands of Killian Hennessy.
Breaking smartly, the Captain Rio mare was always close to the pace before hitting the front at the two furlong marker and ran all the way to the line where she had threeparts of a length to spare over David Marnane's runner Little Clarinet.
This was a smart display by the winner who has improved plenty since the start of the season. She is likely to get a fairly stiff hike in the weights for this success but as she is still on the upgrade she might just about be ahead of the handicapper.
It never ceases to amaze me how Tom Hogan has kept Gordon Lord Byron holding his form as he heads towards his 11th birthday and the Byron gelding showed that he is still capable of landing yet another big pot when he finished second in the Group3 race over six furlongs.
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