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Cromwell and O'Keeffe double up with gambled-on British import

Bring The Bacon and Darragh O'Keeffe 
Bring The Bacon and Darragh O'Keeffe
© Photo Healy Racing

British import Bring The Bacon (11/8 fav, from 6/1 overnight) totally outclassed his rivals and landed a gamble in the HOLLYWOODBETS Handicap Hurdle.

The Sulamani gelding travelled well tracking the leaders under Darragh O’Keeffe before hitting the front before the second last flight of hurdles.

From there he effortlessly went clear and was eased down to beat Game Catch (12/1) by five lengths.

The 6-year-old had a few creditable runs in defeat, over hurdles and fences, in Britain and was last seen finishing third in a chase at Market Rasen in April.

It was a double for O’Keeffe and winning trainer Gavin Cromwell after the odds-on success of Brides Hill earlier.

Feidhlim Cunningham, representing the latter, said: "That was his first start for us since coming from Tom Gretton's and he is actually a half-brother to (dual Grade 1-placed) Gentlemansgame.

“We bought him privately and he came over here with a low rating. Since we got him, we thought he was a bit better than the rating.

“He done it well today and Darragh said he has plenty of scope. He is handicapped over fences as well, so he will mix it between the two.

"He is in here again tomorrow (over 2m5f) and he might run again."

Quotes from Donal Murphy

1st
11/8Fav
Tote €2.20 €1.20
2nd
5L
12/1
€1.90
3rd
3.75L
18/1
€4.20
4th
3L
22/1
€3.70
About Mark Nunan
Mark has followed racing since he was a teenager and worked for many years as a broadcaster with the Irish version of Racecall. He joined the Press Association in 2019 and is also a contributor to the Racing Post. A native of Kildare, he now lives in Sligo.