Luke Dempsey celebrates his Fairyhouse double© Photo Healy Racing
Luke Dempsey completed a 186/1 double on the afternoon at Fairyhouse as the talented 5lb claimer was seen to great effect when getting Rightdownthemiddle up virtually on the line in the attheraces.com Exclusive Barry Geraghty Blog Handicap Hurdle.
Dempsey teamed up with his father Philip in the previous mares handicap hurdle as Anotherlady recorded a 33/1 success but Rightdownthemiddle was much stronger in the market.
Available at 16/1 in early exchanges the previous evening, the seven-year-old gelding was supported on track from 6/1 into 9/2 and was ridden close to the pace set by 9/4 favourite Jimmy Two Times Flaming Dawn looked set to record a 14/1 surprise when asserting after the penultimate flight but he wilted on the run-in and was caught in the final strides by Mick Mulvany's charge, with the favourite also running a cracker just a half-length back in third.
Mulvany said, "I thought he hadn't got there for a moment. He's a very honest little horse, and we've had to wait a while to get the win.
"He's been bumped all around the place on his last two runs. We were a bit disappointed the last day and expected a big run today. He wouldn't be in love with that heavy ground but he's all heart.
"John Higgins bought him as a foal and he loves the horse. We'll probably have a look at some of the festivals and he'll handle a bit better ground."
(GC & AM)
