Mark Nunan
Second double in four days for Sam Ewing
Advanced Virgo and Sam Ewing (white, blue spots) win from Cerberus (white cap) and Future Proof (left)
© Photo Healy Racing
The We Are In This Together Handicap saw 16-year-old Sam Ewing complete a quick 152/1 double as Advanced Virgo stayed on best to thwart the 11/8 favourite Cerberus by a length. Future Proof (4/1) had travelled well to hit the front entering the straight but could find no extra in the final furlong and finished a further length and a quarter back in third.
Ewing, successful on Excuzio Joe (8/1) in the preceding contest, hasn’t looked back since riding his first winner in August and this was his 13th winner of the campaign, coming on the back of his brace at Dundalk on Friday evening.
A dual winner on the level in Britain, the successful Niarchos-bred 5-year-old won over hurdles at Navan last year and had been placed on his last two starts on the Flat at Limerick and Killarney.
Winning trainer Charles Byrnes, who acquired him for just £4,000 in 2018, said: "He’s (Sam Ewing) a lovely rider and the horse has been consistent.
“It’s a big plus going on that ground and we’ll see, we might run him in another Flat race.”
Additional reporting by Eamonn Murphy