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Gary Carson

Gary Carson

Rocky gets the verdict in photo thriller

Mon 30th Aug 2021, 16:22

Drummullagh Rocky and Conor Maxwell fly the lastDrummullagh Rocky and Conor Maxwell fly the last
© Photo Healy Racing

Drummullagh Rocky just held on in a driving finish to claim victory after a game front-running performance in the Remembering 'Caughoo' Handicap Chase at Downpatrick.

Conor Maxwell got a great tune from the locally-trained veteran who poached a few lengths with a fine leap three from home, in the two-mile-one contest. Clody Valley threw down a strong challenge on the run-in but the line came just in time for Sean McParlan's charge who got home by a short-head.

The 12/1 winner was bouncing back to form having been pulled up on his most recent start at Tipperary.

McParlan trains the winner for Newry-based owner Martin Ward and said afterwards:-

"He does jump well. He was going well here two races ago and he just clipped the one at the top of the hill. He will spring off good ground.

"He ran in 80-95s and couldn't win them and then runs in a better race and wins it! He had a good light weight on him today.

"It was a brilliant ride and he had just enough at the line, that's all you need.

"We ran him in that today because there is nothing else for him for a while. We will see what comes up."

(Quotes by Michael Graham)

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.