Boirche gets up to give Murtagh double

Johnny Murtagh secured a double with a last gasp effort on Banna Boirche in the first division of the Fastfix/Dundalk FC Handicap. Silly Dancer had looked set to steal it when kicking clear turning for home but the Michael Halford-trained gelding chased him down in the final furlong to get up in the last strides.

"He needed a jockey and Johnny was brilliant on him today," said Halford.

"He's a big raw horse and the surface helped him today. The soft ground found him out at Killarney the last day.

"I'm delighted for Paul Rooney, who is a great supporter of the yard.

"We'll stick to handicaps for the minute but he has been schooled over hurdles and will go jumping in the future."