Paddy puts the pressure on with Dundalk double Paddy Harnett gained his second success of the day and moved to within one winner of championship leader Sam Coen in the apprentice title race when taking the second division of the Christmas Party Nights At Dundalk Handicap on Roman Harry. Trained by Shane Duffy for owner Garry Fleming, the 11/2 chance brought his tally to three wins when battling to a shorthead success over Willie Martin’s 25/1 shot Jazzy Dancer. The Johnny Feane-trained 4/1 chance Strikepoint was half a length away in third place. Roman Harry’s success was Harnett’s 25th winner of the season. Sam Coen continues to lead the way on 26 winners in the apprentice championship, with Reese Holohan now back in third place on 24. The championship concludes at the Curragh on Sunday. Shane Duffy commented, “He suits here, he's a horse that likes the all-weather. “We tried him a couple of times on grass and while he travels well on grass, he just wheel spins and can't pick up on it. He seems to get a grip on it here. "Went to Laytown and strongly fancied him, and it just didn't happen for him. “Came back here today very, very confident. I rang Paddy last week and said that I might have one for him. He's a good guy and he would always help you out. Great for him, I'm delighted. “We had a chat before the race and if they went fast, we would sit back a little bit, but if they went slow, we would sit handy. The whole thing is a bit of cover with him; that's the main thing. Once you get cover with him, and keep filling him up, and make him think he is Frankel, he finishes off well. He loves a bit of confidence and that's the way to ride him. “He likes to be fresh, so we will give him three or four weeks and we will come back. He loves that surface and he's a better horse on it. “Niall McCullagh did a lot of work for me with him and he was unlucky on him a couple of days. “That's our third winner of the year and we've only had less than 20 runners, it is nice.” Additional reporting from Michael Graham
