Our Manekineko is now a man

Our Manekineko with a set of blinkers on seems to be a completely different proposition and seven days on from a course and distance win in first time 'blinds' he followed up in the second split of the Crowne Plaza Hotel Race & Stay Apprentice Handicap at Dundalk.

The top-weight, now a three time victor over the mile at the polytrack, was ridden here by Leigh Roche and the son of Kyllachy hit the front in the final quarter mile before going on to comfortably defeat the well-backed favourite Reckless Lad by two lengths.

"The blinkers seem to have helped him to concentrate. I'd say he learned a lot from the win here last week. It seems to have made a man of him.

"He obviously loves this place as he was very disappointing on grass," explained winning trainer James Nash of the Purple Haze Partnership's three-year-old. (AM & EM)