Battle goes to Borne for McGettigan & McKenna Bought out of a claimer for E5,000 in December, Battle Borne rewarded his new connections by just prevailing under Patrick McGettigan in the View Restaurant At Dundalk Stadium Maiden. Previously in the care of Gavin Cromwell and now owned and trained by Pat McKenna, the four-year-old Acclamation bay was beaten by a neck when last seen just over a week ago. Ridden to challenge between horses from the two furlong pole, the 11/2 chance (touched 8s early) was soon engaged in a good tussle with Go Out (2/1, drifted from 7/4) and there was ultimately just a short head between them on crossing the line. The front pair were a length-and-three-quarters in front of Gaiety Girl (9/1) in third, while Je Suis Celebre (11/8f) finished a disappointing fifth. "The last day, the horse (Ben Lawers) that won it was rated 87, and I thought coming today it was sort of a weaker race," the winning rider reflected. "I know Stephen Thorne's (Je Suis Celebre) was unexposed, but I thought I had a battle-hardened horse and he showed that today. "He rolled around a little bit with me, but just looking for company. He does (give everything), he tries - I'd say seven (furlongs) or a mile, he's versatile that way. "I wasn't actually sure (if up) to be honest, I had my head down hoping the line was coming. "Pat has been a good supporter of mine. Rory Mulligan and I do a bit of work up here in Dundalk for him, so to pay him back is nice." Additional reporting by Michael Graham
