Washington Heights and local-man Gray lead home Ryan 1-2 in feature Local-jockey Shane Gray got a great cheer when he returned to Dundalk to win the Group 3 Mercury Stakes on 5/2 favourite Washington Heights. Gray, who moved to ride in England 13 years ago, was always prominent on Washington Heights in the feature and came through to lead a furlong down. He was soon strongly-pressed by stablemate Ain't Nobody, but dug deep to win by a neck over the 7/1 runner-up. There was a two-and-a-half-length gap back to another British raider in This Moment (5/1). Gray said: "Great to be home! Probably one of my favourite winners ever really. "My hometown and all my family here and they don't often get to support me. My two cousins and my godchild are going to be doing the presentation purely because my sponsors (BAR 1) sponsored the race. "The surface was the thing, but Kevin was very happy with him. He had him the best he was all year. "He jumped and travelled really well. He dragged me into the race lovely and just got a bit lonely, but he just kept pulling out. He had a look when he got there and when Kevin's other horse (Ain't Nobody) came to me, he went on again. He's very straightforward. "For him to take a lead that far back, they are definitely going quick enough."
