Eagle's Way (left) seen winning under Chris Hayes at Galway © Photo Healy Racing
The royal blue and white colours of Bill Durkan have been seen in the winner's enclosure at several tracks this summer and Shigar, in the mile handicap at Navan yesterday, was the latest horse to bring home the bacon for the Bohola native.
Afterwards, assistant trainer Gary Bannon had news of Eagle's Way who scooped a first prize of 66,000 euro when making all to land the Guinness Handicap over 1m4f on the Friday evening of the Galway festival.
“He’s entered in the Petingo Handicap (1m5f on Champion Stakes day at Leopardstown) and is working seriously well. He’s come out of Galway very well and we have him in the Irish Cesarewitch as well.
“He went up 7lb for Galway but he wasn’t doing that much in front a long way out. He’s like that at home in that he doesn’t do a lot in front and saves it for the day. He’s a very chilled and relaxed horse.
“If we keep stepping him up in trip we might not have seen the best of him yet. We got what we wanted in Galway and everything else now is a bonus.
“We were going to wait until the Cesarewitch but he’s in that good a form we said we’d throw him into the Petingo.
“If the ground turned up very quick we might skip there and go to the Curragh. I’m not saying he wants soft conditions but maybe not too quick.
“He’ll go back over hurdles before the year is out. The lads love jump racing and we’ll look across the pond as well if he’s good enough.”
Additional reporting by Alan Magee
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