Double for red hot McNamara as Londonofficecallin wins well

After saddling five winners at Listowel last week, Eric McNamara continued his red hot form at Down Royal today.

Successful in the fourth with Future Cutlet the Co Limerick handler doubled-up with Londonofficecallin in the concluding Molson Coors Beverage Company Handicap.

Available at 12/1 in early shows for this extended mile and a half contest, the likeable grey eventually went off an 11/2 chance (drifted from 4s) in the colours of the In Bounds Syndicate.

Settled behind the leaders by Wayne Lordan, the versatile seven-year-old travelled best to lead with over two furlongs to go.

Ridden with over a furlong to race, he found plenty for pressure and was two and three quarters of a length clear at the line.

An outsider at 66/1, Morse ran a huge race to take second under Niall McCullagh, while the well-backed Sixpack (7/2f from 10s) was another length and a half away in third.

"He loves it here, he loves it up north," Conor McNamara, son of the winning trainer, said.

"A lot of the owners are from near enough Down Royal or the vicinity - lovely lads.

"He did that well today and it is his second run of the year. I'm hoping he will improve off that again.

"He does have an engine and he stays. He's a horse that tries very hard in his races, so you just have to be careful with him.

"He is a horse that we will try and get out on the Flat once or twice more before the season ends, probably once more I'd say.

"He's 102 or something over hurdles and he has been much of a muchness over fences, so I imagine we will explore maybe quicker tracks like Thurles where the ground is a bit nicer during the winter.

"We will keep him going now because he unfortunately had an injury at the start of the year that kept him off until now. We have him now and hopefully we keep going."

On the stables' recent run, he added: "It is brilliant to keep it going. You like it, but when it is happening like this you often think to yourself 'oh, the come down off it is not going to be great'.

"Even still, we have a couple of horses that were well handicapped and a lot of them have won the last week. It is brilliant to do that and get that, but we need to find the next bunch now."

STEWARDS REPORT

G.P. Halpin, rider of Redwood Queen trained by C.Byrnes, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount was outpaced and didn't find much.

Additional reporting by Michael Graham