BRILLIANT LOTTO WINNER OF McCALMONT CUP
Ian Fortune
Lotto Other News merely laughed off a tricky draw to emerge a most impressive and thoroughly deserving winner of the Deadly Kennels McCalmont Cup at Kilkenny on Friday night.
There had been concerns about how he would handle trap five but his many supporters had no need to fret.
Breaking smartly, alongside Droopys Bro, Lotto Other News soon put his superb early speed to great use, opening a clear advantage into the bend. Once doing so, it was little more than a procession for the Shaun Conway trained son of Good News and Shes Made It.
By halfway he had at least five lengths in hand on Droopys Bro and continued to pile on the pressure into the third turn. Predictably, Droopy Bro did stay on strongly to close the gap on the run in but Lotto Other News was always in complete command.
Owned by the Lotto Express Syndicate, Lotto Other News, who will turn four on this day week, March 29th, raced to a wonderful three length victory over Droopys Bro in a rapid fastest of the competition and fastest of the year 28.64. The runner-up did little wrong but just couldn’t handle Lotto Other News, while Kapuka Warrior would finish another four lengths adrift in third. It’s now back to AA0 company for Lotto Other News but, on this latest evidence, the return to top company won’t cause him much concern.
PA WINS TOM BROWNE MEMORIAL
Earlier on the card, the absence of Texas Jack in the final of the Tom Browne Memorial looked a wide open affair but it was Birchfield Pa, a kennel companion to the absent Texas Jack, that took his opportunity.
Trained by Thomas Leahy for the B-Boys Syndicate, the son of Droopys Buick and Droopys Cutey was always prominent before asserting down the back straight from the narrow early leader Man On Bono. Once going to the front, Birchfield Pa never let his advantage slip and he would go on to land the prize by a length and a half from Man On Bono in 29.28.