For the Mother’s Day that’s in it…
Going into the Clonoulty Handicap Hurdle at Thurles, Cillian Leonard had appeared in 45 races and won none.
All that changed when he teamed up with 10/1 shot Supreme Steel.
Supreme Steel had finished 7th, 2nd and had unseated its rider in its last three outings but was looking good ahead of the 3:20pm run. By the race time, the odds had dropped to 7/1 but way off the 13/2 favourite Queeny.
Tags mattered not a jot to Leonard and his mount as they kept in touch with the pace-setters and took the lead coming up to the final fence. They didn’t look back.
The victory meant a lot to the young jockey but not as much as it did to his mother, Angela, and sister, Sinead, watching from home. In a brilliant video sent in to us by SportsJOE reader Cian O’Brien, Leonard’s proud family nearly took the roof off as he charged to his first ever National Hunt victory.
It’s a joy to watch.
Following his maiden victory, Leonard went back out on 50/1 shot Micras but could only finish in 5th.
Can’t win ’em all.
