Tom Harney Secures Career-Best Win with Eagles Reign at Listowel

Tom Harney celebrated the biggest victory of his budding career by guiding Eagles Reign to triumph in the Liam Healy Memorial Lartigue Hurdle at Listowel this afternoon.

After finishing second at 80/1 in the Boodles at Cheltenham in March, the Ross O'Sullivan-trained gelding struggled in a recent flat outing at Navan last month. Sent off at 6/1 today, the Gleneagles gelding maintained a prominent position throughout the race, moving to the front after three out.

Despite a slight mistake at the next hurdle, Eagles Reign responded well when pressed on the run-in, ultimately holding off Pinot Gris by three-quarters of a length.

Pinot Gris, the 9/4 favourite under Conor Stone-Walsh for Gavin Cromwell, finished second, while Bright Legend (12/1) came in five lengths further back in third.

Ross O'Sullivan remarked, "The plan has been to target this race, and we wanted a prep run, so we gave him a flat outing three weeks ago to get him ready. It was a bit of a gamble whether he would get his preferred ground, as he thrives on soft conditions. The rain started yesterday, and it couldn’t have worked out better. He ran a great race at Cheltenham, but after a flat performance at Aintree, Tommy suggested we go for the Lartigue, which made sense."

He added, "You wouldn’t believe it from his work, as he’s the worst worker I’ve ever seen! The lads would get excited about working with Eagles Reign, but he’s rated low on the flat for a reason. When he gets soft ground over jumps, he’s a completely different horse. It’s fantastic to have him, and Tommy has been with us since the beginning. He’s not just a rider; he’s my head lad and does an incredible job. His 7lb claim is invaluable, and he truly deserves this success."