'She’s a lovely, solid and tough mare' - Anthony Honeyball left impressed with Somespring Special

Anthony Honeyball was full of praise for Somespring Special following her win in the 2m1½f mares' novice handicap hurdle.

The five-year-old pulled five and a half lengths clear of Mistral Nell to gain her first victory.

Honeyball believes her jumping throughout the contest was one of the reasons for the victory as the trainer moved on to 34 winners for the campaign, two short of equalling his best ever tally from the 2019-20 season.

Honeyball said: “I was very pleased with her because it looked like a good opportunity and I’m happy with how the race went. 

“She jumped quite well, especially when she needed to, and it’s nice to get a win under her belt.”

Before getting off the mark at the fourth attempt under rules, Somespring Special finished four lengths behind recent Kempton winner Outlaw Peter and Honeyball is excited about her potential.

He said: “She’s a lovely, solid and tough mare with a typical Westerner type of mentality and we’ll be going chasing next season for sure, but we’ll see what we can do over hurdles for the rest of this campaign.”

Bright future

All Authorized completed a double for trainer Gary Moore when landing the 1m5½f bumper under Niall Houlihan.

The four-year-old was making his first start for the yard since being bought for €110,000 at the Goffs Land Rover Sale in June last year.  

His win followed Hector Jaguen's success in the 2m2f handicap chase on the card. Ridden by the in-form Caoilin Quinn, who has six wins from his last 16 rides, the six-year-old beat Shaw's Cross by five and a half lengths.

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