Returning Rutledge bags Dundalk winner Siobhan Rutledge returned from a year spent riding in Australia to register a winner on her second ride back in Ireland today, landing Dundalk’s Irishinjuredjockeys.com Handicap on the Ross O’Sullivan-trained Stone Bear (13/2). Rutledge, successful in 42 races for previous employer trainer John McConnell, moved to Queensland last winter and today resumed race-riding with three rides, having returned to Ireland in December. Unplaced on her initial ride, Rutledge bagged her 80th Irish winner on Stone Bear, who had raced behind the leaders and quickened nicely to beat Plushy by 1.75 lengths. Delighted Rutledge reported “this is brilliant and is the start you want, to let everyone know you are home. I will be hoping to do freelancing and riding for loads of different trainers, so it is good to have this winner and start.” She added "I've been looking forward to coming back riding and I was lucky that today’s meeting was a restricted day for the jockeys, so I was able to pick up rides. Thanks to Ross and John (Bowden, owner) for giving me the ride, she was in great form and won easy. "She's quite a small filly and that just takes that complication out of getting a nice position. The split came on the outside which we were hoping for, and I thought I had gone too soon but, in fairness, she stuck it out to the end. "Shane Foley has been riding her up when she has been there-or-thereabouts and I think that will do her confidence the world of good.” Regarding her time in Australia, she added "I was lucky with trainers Chris and Corey Munce who I went to in Eagle Farm, as they were really good to me. They taught me everything that I needed to know about track work. "Chris himself won the Melbourne Cup, the Caulfield Cup, and the Cox Plate and is the sort of man you would want to be listening to going out there riding. "This is me back permanently and hopefully I can get myself in the door with a few different yards, so I’m hoping to kick on." Quotes from Michael Graham
