31/1 Wexford double for McNamara Andrew McNamara completed a quick double at Wexford when half-an-hour on from his victory on Cairde Aris for John Kiely, he teamed up with Peter Casey to capture the featured Chef Phelim Byrne The Ivy Room Handicap Hurdle at Wexford on Eight Till Late. Eshtiaal was all the rage here in the betting, backed in from reportedly as big as 6/1, when the race was first priced up last evening, into a starting price of 5/4. Gordon Elliott's charge, also declared to run at Tramore on Sunday, just came up short, going down by half a length to Eight Till Late. The successful Desert King gelding came through from the rear to get to the front on the run-in. He drifted left but did enough to prevail. "I nearly got brought down early on and I thought that might have done us but he seemed to get back into the race without doing too much work," revealed McNamara. "He settled well out the back, he can run a bit keen normally, and everything just happened right after that." D.J. Benson, rider of Pencilhimin, trained by Norman Cassidy, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his mount burst blood vessels in running. Sean O. O'Brien, trainer of Cloudy Rock, reported to the Stewards' Secretaries that his charge sustained a cut to her near hind leg in running. (DM & EM)
