Slygufftou stays on well in Ballybrit

Slygufftou showed plenty of battling qualities when taking the spoils in the extended two mile seven Galway Shopping Centre Handicap Hurdle.

He set off in pursuit of Harangue and Medinah Gold after the penultimate hurdle. The grey horse was closer in third jumping the last where Medinah Gold made a mistake in second.

Harangue started to tire in front with 200 yards to race as Slygufftou was driven into second by Luke Dempsey.

It soon got worse for Harangue as he wandered to the right and yielded the initiative to Slygufftou who was ridden out to score by a length and three quarters at 16/1.

Harangue came in second at 20/1 while Medinah Gold (16/1) and Redclue (9/1) completed the placings in third and forth respectively.

Handler Michael McCullagh said: "This horse has given me a hard time at home but I forgive him all now. I was saying beforehand that I should have waited for Roscommon (on Tuesday).

"I told young Dempsey to wait and wait, and he did exactly as he was told."

He also said about his jockey son Niall: "They took the tube out of his lung yesterday, and he may get out on Tuesday.

"He has ten broken ribs, not seven, and a broken collarbone as well as the collapsed lung. But he's able to walk around and is very much on the mend."

Luke Dempsey added: "Jack's horse (Medinah Gold) made a bad mistake (at the last) and the runner-up didn't do a whole lot when he got to the front. My lad was tough and he stuck his head down."

Additional reporting by Alan Magee