Andy Robertson Celebrates First Solo Success with Walk On Harry

Andy Robertson has won plenty under the floodlights, but this time the celebration came in the Cork drizzle and ended with a €50,000 bonus rather than a trophy.

The Tottenham and Scotland defender enjoyed his first winner as a sole owner when Walk On Harry stormed home in the 5f maiden at Cork, triggering the lucrative Goffs sales bonus in the process.

Robertson is no tourist in the racing game. He has long been involved in ownership, notably with Mr McCann, the horse he shared with former Liverpool teammates Jordan Henderson, James Milner, Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Adam Lallana. He is also among the owners of Wait Geordie, trained by Hugo Palmer, who made a sparkling start when scoring by a length and a half under David Probert on debut at Bath, but has gone five runs without a win since.

This one was different. Walk On Harry was the first horse to run solely in Robertson’s name and he delivered, building on a previous course-and-distance third to strike at the third attempt for Henry de Bromhead and jockey Ronan Whelan.

The pressure finally told in the final furlong. Drawn on the far side, Walk On Harry sat handy behind favourite Southern Boulevard before Whelan asked him to go. The son of Earthlight responded sharply, picked up inside the last furlong and pulled clear to win by a length and a quarter, looking stronger the closer they got to the line.

Whelan, speaking to Racing TV, was encouraged by how much the youngster has learned in a short space of time.

"We learned a lot about him the last day and we thought dropping back to five furlongs we could be good and positive on him, but he's actually a horse that wants to travel," he said.

"He's got a lovely pedigree and he's a lovely physical horse to go with it, so hopefully he's only going to keep on progressing. He's got a beautiful mind to go with it, so he could have a bright future."

The numbers behind the story will please connections almost as much as the performance. Walk On Harry cost €32,000 at last year’s Goffs Orby Book 2 sale, a relatively modest outlay that made him eligible for the sales company’s €50,000 bonus scheme. His Cork success locked in that payout, leaving just one such bonus still up for grabs in Ireland this year.

It was also a good day for tipster Graeme Rodway, who flagged Walk On Harry at 11-2 and watched him justify that faith in style. Rodway, fresh from nailing Friday’s winner, has four more fancies lined up for Saturday’s action.

For Robertson, used to leading Scotland out and chasing Champions League nights, this was a different kind of thrill. A sharp juvenile, a shrewd purchase, a hefty bonus banked. The question now is how far Walk On Harry can climb from here.