A son of Danehill that cost 280,000 guineas as a two-year-old, Romeo's On Fire s three previous successes all came at Dundalk and a somewhat similar underfoot surface brought a return to form for the seven-year-old as he led home a Ger Lyons one two in the concluding Ballygarth (Q.R.) Handicap at Laytown.
Despite drifting right under pressure inside the final furlong, Kevin Power got Romeo's On Fire up near the line to beat his stable companion Tarrsille (Andrew Duff up) by a neck.
Lyons said: "It's just a pity one of mine had to be second but it's the only race that they were qualified for.
"Andrew (Duff) has done a lot of work on Tarrsille at home, schooling him to keep him sweet, and he had the choice of the pair here.
"Laytown brought a bit of a spark to both horses who have plenty of ability. It's just hard to get that ability out of them.
"That was a long time coming for the winner. He cost a lot of money in his time.
"Anyway little fish are sweet and he could have a campaign at Dundalk now.
"I'm a bit disappointed for Andrew (2nd on Tarrsille). He needs just one winner to lose his claim and he is a big part of the team at home."
A big gamble on the Pat Martin-trained Footprint (9/2 into 5/2) went astray here. Jason McKeown's mount could only manage a well-beaten seventh place.
