Irish Pointers Grade 1 winner

Ginto (5/4) provided owners Noel and Valerie Moran (Bective Stud) with their first Grade 1 winner when staying on dourly to win the Lawlor's of Naas Novice Hurdle on Sunday. The Walk In The Park gelding, who cost €470,000 having won a point-to-point, made it three out of three over timber following his four and a quarter lengths victory. Jack Kennedy's mount made all the running and, despite showing a tendency to jump to his right, he withstood the challenge of Grand Jury (12/1) from the second last and was a worthy winner. Even though his three wins this term have all been over two and a half miles, the six year old gives the impression he will be even better over three miles. With that in mind, the Albert Bartlett Novices' Hurdle appeals more in terms of his Cheltenham target, especially as the race is run on the New course where there is less emphasis on jumping. Both the winner and runner-up featured in Declan Phelan's Irish Pointers section in One Jump Ahead.