McGuinness and Whelan double up with Skontonovski

Ado McGuinness and Ronan Whelan completed a 44/1 double as Skontonovski returned to form in the Book Online At DundalkStadium.com Handicap.

The five-year-old gelding, who cost 6,500 guineas at Newmarket last July, recorded three wins last autumn and appeared to appreciate the step back up to a mile here.

The well-supported 4/1 shot was edged right to challenge inside the final furlong and kept on gamely under pressure to beat Crystal Dawn by a length with Ampeson just a neck back in third.

McGuinness said, "I often tell young lads to count to 10 and I'd say he counted to 20 up the straight! He's just a class apart and he didn't panic.

“Two runs ago the horse was second and got 4lb, sometimes the handicapper does that to you up here during the winter and that can stop you for the rest of the year.

“He's won four times for us since we bought him last July so he owes us nothing and he's a great fun horse. He might get a little break and then kick on back on the turf.

“I think Ronnie made the big difference there. He just didn't get involved, put the horse asleep and left him asleep until the last furlong.”

McGuinness and Whelan initiated the double an hour earlier with 8/1 shot Alhajeeb in division one of the extended ten-furlong handicap.

(GC & AM)