Fixation bounces back in style The Johnny Murtagh-trained Fixation returns to form after his recent disappointment at the Galway Festival by landing the McEnery Cup Handicap over an extended mile and a half at Gowran park. After winning the Ladies Derby at the Curragh in facile fashion on his penultimate start, the son of Tamayuz blew the start in the Guinness Handicap at Galway and was never able to land a blow. Sent off as the 9/4 favourite under Ben Coen, the four-year-old was always prominent, tracking the leaders in third position. Pushed along over two furlongs out, Fixation came through to lead over one furlong out under a strong drive and galloped his rivals mercilessly into submission to win by four lengths from the game Star Harbour (15/2). Navy Waters (3/1) was just held for third by a short head. "It all went wrong for him in Galway at the start. He was messy. He was messy again today at the start, but he missed the start in Galway. He got back in behind a wall of horses. Ben said he never got a clear run on them so he'd an easy race. He came back and he seemed in great form at home," reported Murtagh. "This was the next logical step. I think a-mile-and-a-quarter, a-mile-and-a-half is good for this horse. He's not slow but around here you need a bit of pace and he won very well. I think we'll wait until Champions Weekend now. There's two races there. A mile-and-a-quarter handicap at the Curragh and a-mile-and-five at Leopardstown so we'll target one of those." Additional reporting by John O'Riordan.
