Limerick Lace

Limerick Lace put up a really nice performance to win the rated novices’ chase at Down Royal last Tuesday. A little keen early on, Gavin Cromwell’s mare travelled well for Luke Dempsey in third place behind a decent pace that Alko Rouge and Irish Blaze set. She moved into second place behind Irish Blaze at the sixth fence and she travelled well down the hill to the second last fence in the leader’s slipstream as the pair of them moved clear of their rivals. She joined the leader at the second last, moved into the lead on the run to the last, and she picked up well on the run-in to go away and win by eight lengths from Irish Blaze, who was well clear of the rest.

There was an awful lot to like about this performance by JP McManus’ mare. Her jumping was very good, she travelled really well, and you could have called her as the most likely winner from a long way out. It was only her third chase too, she has plenty of scope to continue progressing. From a really good family, a full-sister to Inothewayurthinkin and a half-sister to Ilikedwayurthinkin and Ulster National winner Spades Are Trumps, all bred by Noreen McManus and owned by JP McManus and trained by Gavin Cromwell, she was racing off an effective handicap rating of 123 in this rated novices’ race, and she has the potential to be better than that mark. She won her maiden hurdle over two and a half miles, but she is a strong traveller and two miles and soft ground over fences seems to suit her well.
Down Royal, 24^th January 2023