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Mark Nunan

Mark Nunan

The Sky falls in for odds-on backers in the last

Thu 25th Jul 2019, 22:36

HURRICANE SKY and Niall McCullagh (right) turn over Dinard Rose in the lastHURRICANE SKY and Niall McCullagh (right) turn over Dinard Rose in the last
© Photo Healy Racing

Leopardstown has been Hurricane Sky rsquo;s favourite track over the years, and the ten-year-old popped up at 20/1 to land the concluding Horseraces S.A of Greece Handicap over 1m 7f.

The outsider of the five-runner field got the better of odds-on favourite Dinard Rose (4/7 fav) by half a length and, having bumped the runner-up close home, then had to survive a Stewards’ Enquiry.

It didn’t take too long to confirm Charles O’Brien’s ten-year-old as the winner, his fourth time to score at the track and a sixth career success in total.

The winning rider Niall McCullagh remarked afterwards : “He was good today. He's an old-timer and I always seemed to get an auld tune out of him.

“I was just beaten one day on him in Killarney. Today with the blinkers and the nice ground he just travelled with a bit more enthusiasm.

“When he got through the gap he got a bit of courage and he stayed on well.

“He's an old favourite of mine, and Charles' and the boss's.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson

About Mark Nunan
Mark has followed racing since he was a teenager and worked for many years as a broadcaster with the Irish version of Racecall. He joined the Press Association in 2019 and is also a contributor to the Racing Post. A native of Kildare, he now lives in Sligo.