Baltimore Bucko finishes third in Handicap Hurdle at Naas in Ireland

Details: January 31, 2021; By Staff Writers

COUNTY KILDARE, Ireland--After having two races canceled due to frozen ground, trainer Keri Brion and owners Ed Swyer and Ron Moorhead decided to run Winston C and Baltimore Bucko at Naas despite incredibly challenging conditions.

Brions string in barn Keri Brion's string in barn in Wexford, IrelandBeing ridden just to get a race into him, Winston C finished fifth and last in the 31,000, G3, 2 mile Limestone Lad Hurdle at Naas on Jan. 31, and Baltimore Bucko finished a game third, both ridden by John O'Neill, in a $16,500, 2 mile Handicap Hurdle three races later.

"I can't believe they even held the meet," said Brion.

The track had just passed inspection the night before the meet, and then it rained all the next morning before the races.

"I talked to Mr. Swyer this morning," said Brion after the races. "We decided to run Winston C just to get a race into him. It had gotten to the point where we just wanted to get a race into him. The instructions to John were `Don't beat him up.' Still, he hung in there right up to two fences from the end."

"Winston's a little horse,: said Brion. "He's only about 15.1 hands. John said he was up to his knees in mud at times. Still, John said he loved being out there."

"Baltimore Bucko ran great," said Brion. "It was a slog fest by the time of the fifth race, but he was right there until two fences from home, and then after the last he just couldn't dig in."

"He seems to like the distance," said Brion. "We may bump him up to 2 1/2 miles next time. At this time a year ago, he hadn't even started in a race. Now he's been in the money every time over here. He's some little horse. He's the gift that keeps on giving."

"The ground should start to get better now," said Brion. "It should start to dry up. It will still be soft, but both horses can handle soft."

"French Light will run in a G1 Novice Handicap at Leopardstown next Sunday, Feb. 7," said Brion. "If he can hit the board, that would be great. We're aiming Winston for a G3 at Gowran Park in three weeks, and we'll probably run Baltimore Bucko back in about three weeks, too."

"I was happy enough with the way they ran today, given the conditions." said Brion.