Durkan's Laafi has 'good each-way chance' at Leopardstown Bill Durkan went close at Down Royal on St Stephen's Day when odds-on favourite Court Compliance found only one too good in the opener and will be represented Laafi in the two-mile handicap hurdle at Leopardstown this afternoon. Useful on the Flat for William Haggas, the Cloth Of Stars gelding made a winning start over hurdles this time last year at Limerick and has had only three runs over flights. After a layoff of more than nine months, he finished down the field in the Greatwood Hurdle at Cheltenham and goes without the blinkers which were worn on that occasion. Bidding to defy a mark of 135, Laafi is a general 20/1 chance for this afternoon's contest at 2.22. Assistant trainer Gary Bannon said: "We ran him in Cheltenham and he came down the hill to the second-last and looked like he was going to be involved. The ground was very dead and patchy that day - with his first run, he kind of petered out of it towards the end. "We are hoping back on better ground, and maybe ride him a little bit different, he'd have a good each-way chance. "It was a very good run (in third in a Grade 3 behind Anzadamat Naas in January) and he actually didn't scope wonderful after that run that day, so we would be hopeful that he would do well in handicaps. "There looks to be a big pot in him." Philip Byrnes is on board and Bannon added: "Philip and Paddy O'Brien are the two lads there with us and they will get all the rides." Additional reporting by Michael Graham
