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Upgraded defies big market drift to score for Martin

Upgraded and Phillip Enright jump the lastUpgraded and Phillip Enright jump the last
© Photo Healy Racing

Upgraded defied a big drift in the betting to score at 28/1 in the second division of the Thanks To The Frontline Workers Handicap Hurdle at Bellewstown.

The Tony Martin-trained mare had traded at 6/1 this morning but was friendless in the market on her return to jumping.

Phillip Enright settled his mount towards the rear before making ground up going to the third last.

She soon recovered from a mistake two from home and jumped into the lead at the last, going on to record a comprehensive seven-length win over Forgetthesurprise

“It took her a while to get the hang of her jumping. She's after having lots of runs over hurdles, and experience, and we've done a lot of work with her over the winter,” said Martin.

“Her jumping had been terrible and touch wood the work we've done with her is after paying off.

“The other division looked a bit stronger. You wouldn't think there is a lot between her and other fella (Acclamatio).

“At least she has a bracket over hurdles and on the Flat now.

“She won in Galway last year. We'll get her home, see how she is, and she has three weeks till then.”

About Gary Carson
Gary started out as a trainee/assistant journalist with the Sporting Life newspaper and has worked in the racing industry for over 25 years. He has been with the Press Association since 2013 and won the Irish Field Nap Table in 2016. He enjoys working with horses and trained his own horse, Mamaslittlestar, to win a point-to-point in 2019.