Rank outsider trades at 999-1 twice in running before incredible 125-1 success

Monday: Limerick

When almost half the field were scratched from the closing bumper (3.50) it looked a run-of-the-mill contest, but it proved one of the most remarkable races of the season.

James Conheady on 125-1 shot An Forghas was allowed six or eight lengths at the start and soon built up a lead of some 20 to 25 lengths, but on the descent to the straight he came right back to the field and looked like being swallowed up.

Not so fast.

From the top of the straight, the horse began to respond again as the closing group began to labour, and it soon became apparent that nothing was going to go past. In the end, the Shantaram gelding won going away by three and three-quarter lengths having traded at 1,000 in-running on Betfair twice, before the off and again when he came right back to the field.

How the race unfolded

125-1 outsider An Forghas (circled) builds up a huge lead over the rest of the field in the early exchanges of Limerick's bumper

An Forghas continues to stretch away by upwards of 25 lengths on the final circuit

An Forghas hits a maximum trading price of 1,000 as the field catch up and threaten to swamp the leader on the turn for home

But jockey and trainer James Conheady finds extra reserves of stamina in the tank as An Forghas pulls away again towards the line

The horse is owned and trained by Conheady, enjoying his first winner in the saddle on the track at the age of 40 having ridden point-to-point winners. He holds a restricted licence and is based in Newmarket-on-Fergus in County Clare, the town after which the horse is named. Indeed, he has a proud racing pedigree, as his father Mick was a stable jockey to the great Tom Costello.

He said: "My dad bought the dam so we bred him ourselves. He has been improving a lot at home so we were quietly confident, although it was a very competitive race. I'm working full-time in farming but we have always kept one or two horses, and this is definitely my biggest success.

"I knew he was going to be free so I decided to make the running and have him out on his own. He works at home on his own so it seemed the right thing to do."

The in-running comment

Made all, soon clear, 25 lengths ahead with one circuit to go, much reduced lead 4f out, pushed along and went clear again over 1f out, kept on well towards finish

3.50 Limerick: watch a replay of an unforgettable race

Eric Bloodaxe continues rise

For a horse that was good enough to beat Ferny Hollow in a bumper two years ago, it has taken the Joseph O'Brien-trained Eric Bloodaxe a little longer to establish his own reputation. It is a growing one, though, and it reached a new peak with a decisive success in the Grade 2 Lyons Of Limerick Jaguar Land Rover Novice Hurdle.

Stepping up to a trip of 2m7f for the first time, Eric Bloodaxe did not always travel like the best horse in the race for Bryan Cooper, but when switched to the inner off the home bend he picked up well and put the race to bed quickly. He came home seven and a half lengths clear of Freedom To Dream and was value for all of it.

Cooper said: "They got racing plenty early coming down the hill and I was happy enough to let them at it as I knew I had a gear."

Eric Bloodaxe and Bryan Cooper jump the last en route to Grade 2 success at LimerickCredit: David Keane

He added: "Joseph said that testing ground wouldn't be in his favour and I saved as much as I could. There was a question mark about the trip too so I think that was a very pleasing performance. When you go and win a Grade 2 by that margin on that sort of ground, it's on a horse with a future and I think he can only improve."

McNamara strikes

Eric McNamara does not often leave his local festival without a winner and credited the victory of Cahirdown Boy in the 2m handicap hurdle to the drop back in trip and the switch to front-running tactics, executed to perfection by his son Conor in the saddle.

The winning trainer said: "This has been a very lucky track for me and I think it's a good few years since we left here without having a winner. This horse has done well for us. He's a lot better on better ground and the change in tactics suited him well today as he had been a very keen horse."

Read these next:

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