Gamble landed as Tony & Danny strike again The Tony Mullins-trained Molly Fantasy landed a gamble in the Tom Murphy Mercedes Benz Mares Handicap Hurdle, providing Mullins with his second success in as many days. Just as was the case yesterday, Danny Mullins was aboard the winner for his father and he was completing his second double in as many days, having scored earlier aboard Ferdia. Available at 20/1 in early markets, the five-year-old victor came in for strong market support and even went odds-on for a while before drifting out to a starting price of 9/4. Last seen in July of 2021 and fitted with a hood for the first time today, she was settled towards rear on the outer, taking closer order from the fourth last flight. Sent in pursuit of the leader from two out, she cruised to the front before the last, going on to score comfortably by three-and-a-half lengths. Natural Look, who went off the 6/4 favourite, had no answer once headed by the winner approaching the last and she had to settle for second under Jack Foley for Declan Queally. The front pair went six-and-a-half lengths clear of Daisy Dufresne (17/2) and Jack Kennedy in third. "She was coming right last year and the next thing she got injured. We had to leave her off then and wait the whole year," the winning trainer, who was successful with Rotten Row yesterday, revealed. "She was working brilliantly at home so I felt that she would take a lot of beating and she did! "I have no big plans for her. She will go for something like that again if she doesn't get too much of a penalty. She'll come back out on good ground. She is capable of doing it off a nice mark but I don't see her going too high." The winner is first reserve in the Strand Inn Dunmore Handicap over a mile and four on Saturday evening.
