Retracement justifies strong support to gain first Irish win The Johnny Murtagh trained Retracement justified strong market support when staying on well under Ben Coen to win the DNG Handicap at the Curragh. As big as 9/2 in the morning, the gelding was backed down to 7/4f at the off. Those that joined in the plunge would have feared the worst over a furlong out, as the four-year-old was caught in a pocket with nowhere to go. However, once seeing daylight at the furlong pole, Retracement quickened up smartly close home to beat In My Teens by half-a-length. Murtagh said:- “He’s a horse with a lot of ability but he’s a little bit tricky. “He’s starting to settled into the place now. He’s a bit keen and he was running with his head up in the air a bit. I think he’s really grown up mentally more than anything else. “We fancied him a few times but riding him the way we rode him it was always going to be tough to win. “I thought coming today he was in good shape, he was after growing up. “He’s in the mile-and-a-half handicap (at Leopardstown) on Sunday and we’ll see how he is. We’ll decide it over the next few days.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson.
