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Punchestown 2024
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- Dark Design gets up on the line for Foley
Mark Nunan
Dark Design gets up on the line for Foley
Dark Design and Shane Foley (near side) collar Buachaill Or close home
© Photo Healy Racing
Dark Design (10/3 fav) and Shane Foley got up in the final stride to take division one of the 3-y-o handicap over a mile.
Longshot Buachaill Oir under Rory Cleary made a bold bid to make all but looked vulnerable racing towards the final furlong.
Cleary’s mount kept finding under pressure, though, and the winner needed every yard of the trip to just nail the front-runner on the line.
An encouraging third on his first start back at Roscommon, Dark Design hadn’t fared as well next time at Naas but got off the mark here on his eighth career start.
Just denied in the previous race with Bay Of Skaill this was a better outcome for Fethard trainer Joe Murphy who said: "He is the first horse and the first winner for the Galtee Racing Syndicate.
"He is a lovely looking horse and hopefully he can improve going forward.
"He is getting tougher and is enjoying his racing but the ground (good) wouldn't want to be any quicker than what it is.
"He was at his own level in three-year-old company today and could step up to 1m2f."
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes