Ottoman Style and Conor Maxwell© Photo Healy Racing
Ottoman Style defied a 6lb rise in the weights to follow up for Dermot McLoughlin and Conor Maxwell in the Powered by Bluegrass Novice Handicap Hurdle at Down Royal.
The 15/2 chance also won over 2m4f at Gowran Park last month and again showed a good attitude here at the business end.
The seven-year-old gelding and Monbeg Park were in the air together at the last and he kept on strongest on the run-in under Maxwell to score by a length and a quarter. L Anamour couldn’t find any extra a further five lengths away in third.
Maxwell said: "He was very tough today. I'll be honest, I didn't fancy him that much in Gowran. Everyone that rode him before told me he might get caught out on the ground. In fairness, he was very good in Gowran.
"Today I thought with deeper ground I would hold onto him a bit longer. I stayed out wide because it was a little bit more dead. He stays two and a half really well.
"He jumped for fun and travelled. When I asked him, he lengthened up. I'd say he is still learning, he doesn't have a lot of runs close together or a lot of handicap runs together but he is doing things right.
"You would hope there is a bit more improvement but sure time will tell. I think a bit of nicer ground the whole way around would suit him better. It was very deep down the back.
"I was saying to the boys before I went out that I wasn't worried about the horses below us, it was the horse above us (Monbeg Park) dropping back in class. They were claiming off him and we didn't have that much pull in the weights with him. He toughed it out well."
Quotes by Michael Graham
