Strait And Narrow gives Keane opening race double at Dundalk Champion Jockey Colin Keane recorded an opening race double as the Michael O'Callaghan trained Strait And Narrow got up close home to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Maiden at Dundalk. Making her racecourse debut, the daughter of Ten Sovereigns showed the benefit of a recent barrier trial outing to strike at the first time of asking. Sitting mid division in the first half of the contest, Keane switched to the far side to make his challenge over a furlong out. Coming through to head Nazario with less than 100 yards to race, the 4/1 chance kept on strongly to score by three-quarters-of-a-length. “She’s a lovely filly. The lads (first horse with him) sent her to me in the middle of the year and she trialled lovely in a barrier trial recently,” said O’Callaghan. “She’s done everything that we’ve asked her. Colin said she was still a little bit green here today because in the trial she wasn’t really in amongst them. “She learned a bit there today and Colin expects her to step forward again. “She’s a filly and the lads are breeders so we’ll obviously go and look for a bit of black-type now, I think she might be capable of it because she’s done nothing but improve, week on week, since we got her. “We’ll stick at six and something like the Bosra Sham. She’s uncomplicated, travels well and is a good mover. It’s a race we’ve been lucky in and it sticks out for me. “Ground-wise Colin said she loved that but he also thought at home that she used her knee a little bit, so I’d say she’ll handle a bit of an ease too.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson.
