Pink In The Park upstages stablemate Allegorie De Vassy at Clonmel

Pink In The Park was an impressive winner of the T.A. Morris Memorial Irish EBF Mares Chase at Clonmel for Willie and Danny Mullins.

The 11-2 chance was a good deal less fancied in the market than her stablemate Allegorie De Vassy, who was the 1-3 favourite for the Listed feature and the mount of Closutton number one Paul Townend.

However, the latter was undone by her less than fluent jumping, whereas Pink In The Park travelled well throughout and took up the lead approaching the last fence.

From there she stayed on resolutely to prevail by four lengths from Thomas Gibney’s Must Be Obeyed, with Allegorie De Vassy back in fourth when beaten 10 lengths.

“It was a good performance. She took on the geldings the last day (in the BetVictor Novice Chase) and while we were disappointed, she ran a respectable fourth,” said the winning rider.

“That probably sharpened her, she jumped great across the top and battled well at the finish.

“I didn’t think I’d be beating Allegorie, but you never know, especially with mares, and these races can often throw up funny results. She has had a good consistent summer and is going the right way.

“I won on her brother Mister Pink in Punchestown recently, they’re a good breed so people could be lining up for the next one.”

Pat Doyle’s Brave Fortune claimed his first win under rules in the I.N.H. Stallion Owners EBF Maiden Hurdle.

The five-year-old was a point-to-point winner in October last year but had yet to strike in five runs over hurdles prior to this.

He started as the even-money favourite under Jack Doyle and after encountering testing going previously he looked more at home on good to yielding and was a decisive five-and-a-half-length winner.

“I thought he was capable of doing that, but he has been disappointing,” the trainer said.

“He appreciates the ground and if the ground stays the way it is, we’ll look for the two-mile-four-furlong ‘winners’ of one’ race at Thurles in the coming weeks – two and a half plus is his trip.

“He is a lovely big horse who cost a lot of money and we were always hoping he’d do something like that.

“He will make a nice horse over fences and will go chasing in the spring but won’t run on winter ground.”

Elsewhere on the card it was Andrew Slattery’s Plains Indian who came out on top in the Clonmel Oil Service Station Handicap Hurdle, prevailing by two and a half lengths at 9-1 under Cian Quirke.

“I suppose he was the class horse in the race being a Listed winner and I know he has been disappointing but the ground was too soft for him all year,” said Willie Slattery, brother to Andrew.

“He had a good first run back this year and if he hadn’t run twice since on ground which was too hard, he’d have been favourite today. We think he is well handicapped on the Flat but can’t get the ground for him.

“We’ll try for another 0-140 handicap now and he could either go to Cheltenham later this month or to Leopardstown over Christmas.”