Duffys Getaway and Simon Torrens© Photo Healy Racing
Duffys Getaway (11/2) registerd consecutive wins today to provide owner J.P. McManus with a Punchestown treble, having landed the William Hill Pick Your Places Handicap Hurdle for trainer Philip Rothwell and jockey Simon Torrens.
The six-year-old won from the basement hurdles' rating of 80 at Fairyhouse in November and today stepped up again, defying a 9lb rise to comfortably beat Spic Diva by 10 lengths.
Rothwell revealed “he's not one that I'd have had my euro on! I wouldn't have been over confident but it's great that he's backed up the last day and went and done it again.
“I'm really pleased because he's a horse that had hugely disappointed us. We gave him a break, he wears a tongue-strap and obviously has got a level of confidence from the last day and kicked on forward.
“He won very well the last day and we'll go easy on him now and probably aim at Fairyhouse on New Year's Day or something in the New Year. Hopefully he'll come out of this okay.
“He has a little wind issue so to see him getting through that is great.”
Owner McManus was earlier successful with the Jimmy Mangan-trained Spillane's Tower and Willie Mullins' Elixir D'ainay
Quotes from Gary Carson
