Shopping Around continues to serve her connections well Most valuable event of the session at Downpatrick, the ITBA Supporting Northern Breeders Mares Handicap Hurdle, went the way of the Jim Dreaper-trained and Keith Donoghue-ridden Shopping Around (11/1). In much the same way as the previous scorer on this card, Enniskerry, Shopping Around was coming off a break after being pulled up when favourite when last seen. In this extended two mile and one furlong contest Highstreet Roller looked a likely winner when leading from the pace-setter, Dreamingandhoping, approaching the last. However that well-supported favourite couldn’t repel Shopping Around in the closing stages as the Dreaper runner got up to score by three parts of a length. The successful chestnut mightn't do a lot in front but she now has three track wins to go with a point-to-point victory. She's ground and trip versatile as well. Shopping Around is likely to mix it between chasing and hurdling over the coming months. R.A. Doyle, rider of Paula's Prayer trained by Conor O'Dwyer, reported to the Clerk of Scales that his mount never travelled. The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Veterinary Officer examined Paula's Prayer, trained by Conor O'Dwyer, at the request of the Stewards and reported the animal to be post race normal. Samples were taken for further analysis. (MG & EM)
