Fighting Fit lives up to his name for the Dempseys

The father and son team of Philip and Luke Dempsey teamed up to take the Punchestown Handicap Hurdle as a first time tongue tie and a drop in trip did the trick with Fighting Fit

The JP McManus-owned gelding was well-supported into 9/2 and made smooth headway to head Marino Marvel approaching the final flight.

Luke Dempsey could afford to take it easy on the run-in as the five-year-old stretched clear to score readily by seven and a half lengths.

Marino Marvel kept on one paced to take the runner-up berth with Coole Arcade a further four lengths back in third.

Philip Dempsey said, “The drop back in drop probably helped him. He travelled well today and his jumping was good.

“Sometimes his jumping can be a bit over exuberant.

“We’ll take our time with him and hopefully he continues on a learning curve.”