Gray making Irish return pay

Emigration as a ‘lifestyle choice’ made headlines during the week but Stephen Gray bucked the emigration trend last September when returning to Ireland following a successful six month spell riding in Australia, and today partnered Ros Brin (8/1) to win the Tote Trifecta Rollover Handicap Hurdle at Leopardstown.

Gray, who rode Bahrain Storm to win the Galway Hurdle, timed his run to perfection on the George Kingston trained runner, who eventually proved three and a quarter lengths too strong for runner-up King Of The Refs

Dundalk based Kingston was not immediately available for comment but the gelding was following up a recent Fairyhouse win under Gray, who partnered a Graded hurdle winner in New Zealand last summer.