Velvet Skies defies topweight to win for Mulvany Local trainer Michael Mulvany sent out Velvet Skies to defy topweight in the Christmas Parties At Navan Racecourse 6th & 14th December Handicap at Navan. Third at Dundalk last time, the 7/2f chance tracked the pace under Ben Coen before going second two furlongs out. Ridden to challenge Happy Henry from over a furlong out, the Frank McNulty owned gelding led close home to score by half-a-length. Mick Mulvany said: "The last day he showed up well (in third at Dundalk). "We said that to Ben that when he got down into the 60 grade that he was going to be dangerous. "We'll see what we are going to do, he won in Dundalk. "I'm delighted for Frank, he's a good patron. "We thought we might try and win on the beach (Laytown) with him, but it didn't work. "He's very competitive off his mark at the moment. He has won when he is higher (in weights), but he is probably not as good as he was then." On his best-ever season, he added: "We've had 24 winners since January including jumps and all-weather winners. "With the Flat, we have had a good year. For a small team, we are fighting well. "The horses seem to be in good form, but all that is wrong now is that we are running out of ammunition. "It is onwards and upwards, hopefully we get a few new horses for next year." Additional reporting by Michael Graham.
