Two spare rides, two winners for Niall McCullagh

A second spare ride for Jim Bolger gave Niall McCullagh a quick double in the Watch Racing TV With Free Trial Now Handicap as Eastern Legend came home in front at odds of 5/1.

As in the previous contest when gaining his first win of the campaign on Golden Spangle McCullagh was deputising for Rory Cleary who had been stood down after a tumble in the first race.

He sat close to the pace on the Shadwell-bred son of Teofilo before pushing his mount to the front rounding the elbow and the winner battled on well from there to see off Alma Libre and Hutton Glen by a length-and-a-quarter and the same.

Stable representative Ger Flynn remarked: "He had been knocking on the door too, he ran really well in Leopardstown the last day. He has been running really consistently in his last couple runs, he has just been bumping into better horses.

"He's a horse we like and Niall just got down off him and said 'I'd love to jump a hurdle on him, he would make a beautiful three-year-old hurdler'. Maybe that is where his future lies.

"He stayed going to the line. When he came down to the road, he had a little bit of a look but after that he said he was always going to hold them.

"It is great to get his head in front and it is great to get a double.

"They do everything so well up here and the track is in great condition. There is a great redevelopment in the stable yard. Hats off to Down Royal."

On next week's Galway festival, he added: "We might have one or two on Monday, one on Tuesday and Slaney Tide the filly that runs in the last, will run on Thursday for the syndicate." 

Quotes from Michael Graham