Longer trip suits Dubawi Star

Dubawi Star overcame a three month lay-off to readily land the jogforjockeys.ie Handicap over an extended nine furlongs.

Niall McCullagh made a point of keeping wide in the straight apparently in search of better ground, and the tactics paid off as the 5/1 chance (from 7's) stayed on well to comfortably beat Tobar Na Gaoise (11/4jt fav) by three lengths. Napa Starr (10/1) was another three and a half lengths adrift in third, while the other joint favourite Elusive Award could make little impression in sixth.

Winning trainer John Oxx said, “We tried a new trip today and he stayed well, and the first time cheek-pieces also seemed to work well. He missed a bit of time with a bruised foot but we didn't intend leaving him off for so long, it just worked out that way. The handicapper will probably murder him now but we'll see what he does and maybe something like the Cambridgeshire could be a possible, although we may concentrate on nine to ten furlongs with him now.”

Alan Magee