Knoxville Bullet takes down his rivals

Knoxville Bullet came out on the right side of a driving finish to Tipperary's five furlong maiden to give Michael O'Callaghan and Emmet McNamara a win on the card.

The 5/1 shot broke very smartly to dispute the lead with Western Seaboard He came under pressure at the two marker and dropped to a close third as Glimmer Of Peace moved into second to challenge Western Seaboard.

However, he picked up well and led narrowly approaching the final furlong. He soon faced a stern challenge from Shanghai Beauty who came with a sustained run down the outside.

Glimmer Of Peace came back for more in the centre but as the line loomed it was Knoxville Bullet a head in front of 7/4 favourite Shanghai Beauty with Glimmer Of Peace (5/2) a short head back in third.

Emmet McNamara said: "I wasn't sure but lucky enough I got the job done. He's a nice, tough horse. I rode him on real fast ground the last day in Cork and he got all in a knot. He changed his legs a heap of times.

"A bit of kindness in the ground today suited him and he toughed it out very well. I thought when Fran came to me (on Shanghai Beauty) he showed a lot of battling qualities.

"Hopefully he can step into handicaps and maybe win a nice one at some stage. Hopefully the handicapper won't take too much of a harsh view of it."

Michael O'Callaghan said: "Emmet gave him a great ride and left him alone early and he deserved that as he's a brave little horse whose form was solid.

"He was sore after running on really fast ground the last day and he went to Jim's (Ryan, owner) place where he patched him up and did a great job.

"A little bit of ease in the ground is key to him and five furlongs. He's a speedy sort. The best thing about him is his attitude. He looked beat a hundred yards out, and a furlong down he looked like they were going to come to get him and he just toughed it out.

"It's all about their heart and mind. He's a nice horse to look forward to. He's going to step up again and he'll come on a bit from this as it has been a while since his last run."

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes