Padraic O'Conaire© Photo Healy Racing
Co Galway based Yvonne Dunleavy bridged a seven and a half year gap between winners at Listowel today when her Padraic O Conaire landed the Mike Lawlee Memorial Handicap Hurdle under jockey Conor Brassil.
Dunleavy operates a small yard and her previous winner was with Sports Casual in December 2010 at Dundalk, when partnered by Johnny Murtagh who, a month earlier, had resigned his post as stable jockey to Ballydoyle.
Dunleavy was delighted and relieved in equal measure following today's success and later stated “it's a long time since I was here so I don't know what to say! He ran very well in Sligo but may have gone a little bit too soon when we thought he might have won.
“He's well in so we'll look for another 0-95 now in a few weeks. He needs a few weeks between races as he loses weight and is a worrier but it's great to have it today and we're a long time waiting for this!
“We have only four horses riding out and we're only very very small. We love the game but it's not really for small people any more and it's hard to stay going. We're absolutely looking for horses as we have plenty room for horses if we could get them.”
Padraic O'Conaire, named after the Irish writer and journalist whose production was primarily in the Irish language, was an appropriate winner at the venue as Listowel's Writers' Week concluded yesterday.
