By Dan Walsh
Day one of the famous Cheltenham Festival got underway today (Tuesday) and Wexford jockey JJ Slevin rode Lark In The Park (9/1) to a fine success in the Boodles Juvenile Handicap Hurdle.
Trained by Slevin’s cousin Joseph O’Brien at Piltown, Co. Kilkenny, Lark In The Park was held up towards the rear and made good headway before three out, before taking up the running on the turn for home and staying on strongly to win comfortably by two lengths.
“I was worried big time about the rain. He’s been getting stuck in the ground at home all winter so we were worried, but I had a spin around on Colonel Mustard in the Champion Hurdle earlier on and after that I thought it wasn’t quite as bad as it walked. It’s Cheltenham and we had to let him take his chance,” said Slevin afterwards.
It was the third Cheltenham festival victory for JJ Slevin, from Kiltrea, Caim, Enniscorthy, having previously won the same race with O’Brien on Band Of Outlaws in 2019, while two years earlier he landed the Martin Pipe Conditional Jockeys’ Handicap Hurdle on Champagne Classic for Gordon Elliott.
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