Ragtime Red© Photo Healy Racing
Ragtime Red has been a good servant for Anthony McCann and won over the extended ten furlongs at Dundalk for the fourth time in the second split of the Bar One Racing 50 Euro Free Bet Handicap.
Fitted with cheekpieces for the first time on his fifty-first start (wore blinkers once before), the 28/1 chance was helped by being ridden prominently in a very slowly-run affair. In second place from halfway, the seven-year-old led two furlongs out and kept finding for Killian Leonard to beat the favourite Spirituoss by a length and a quarter. Long-time leader Fryda was just a nose further back in third.
Winning trainer McCann said: "Killian (Leonard) gave him a superb ride and I told him 'don't complicate it and just don't disappoint him, let him roll on'. He doesn't like horses crowding him. In the back straight, he got into it.
"I know he was wrong in the handicap, but he worked very well last week. I'd say the cheekpieces happened to help as well.
"The horses are all in good form at the minute and hopefully we can kick on.
"Big thanks to Rita Shah (owner) for holding on to him."
Quotes from Michael Graham
