A HEREFORDSHIRE horse trainer took the bragging rights after traveling to Ireland and beating the best home horses on their own turf.

Trainers Venetia Williams and Tom Lacey flew the flag for British trainers this week as they enterprisingly sent across runners to the Punchestown mid-week racing Festival in Ireland.

It was Lacey who took the plaudits when saddled 16-1 shot Tune In A Box to an impressive success in the Full Circle Series Final Handicap Hurdle.

The Much Marcle trainer saddled three runners in the €80,000 contest, including the JP McManus-owned 9/2 favourite Montregard who was the mount of jockey Stan Sheppard whilst Richard Patrick took the mount on Tune In A Box, owned by the local syndicate The Woolhope Hopefuls.

Tune In A Box was always travelling well and hit the front at the two-furlong pole after heading the Shark Hanlon-trained Quest With Speed and after going clear approaching the last hurdle he extended eight lengths clear of the field with Quest For Speed in second and stablemate Montregard half a length further back in third.

Lacey, who in the recently finished British National Hunt season scored 37 wins commented: “I was watching Montregard throughout the race but I kept casting my eye back to Tune In A Box and I saw him travelling everywhere.

“I thought Montregard would close him down but he didn’t. I thought Montregard would be the horse to beat but Tune In A Box is a horse that keeps surprising us.

“It was a lad who does all my form work that highlighted the series to me. As soon as I read the conditions, I thought it was ideal for a few of those in the barn.

“We highlighted them and hit the qualifiers quite strong. We won two and were second in another.

“Where can you go for an €80,000 pot with those ratings? There are just not races for them for that prize fund, so it would be crazy not to target it.”

Fellow Herefordshire trainer Williams, fresh from a successful season with 57 winners and a number of graded winners, pushing her to almost a £1.5 million won in prize money in the season, saddled In D’or in the same race but the ex-French import was well down the field ridden by his enthusiastic owner David Maxwell.

The final race day of the jump racing season at Hereford Racecourse takes place on Monday (May 13) with their Afternoon Jumps Racing meeting.

There are six races in total with the first starting at 2pm and final race going off at 4.35pm.

It is the final meeting for Herefordshire racing fans to experience Hereford Racecourse before the summer break.

Racing resumes with the Season Opener on Monday, October 14.