'As soon as I got into a battle she toughed it out well' - speedy Little Queenie lights up Dundalk feature

Tough mare Little Queenie had her resolution tested in the sprint handicap which opened the day on Dundalk's annual July 12 fixture, but in the hands of Robert Whearty she was not found wanting in registering her fifth success.

Coming from just off a frantic early gallop, she battled well inside the last furlong to hold off the front-running four-year-old Dontspoilasale by a neck for her third win in eight starts at this venue.

Whearty said: "She is really tough, not the biggest in the world, but hardy. Ground caught us out a little last day at the Curragh. She got a bit excited and didn't feel like herself but she felt 100 per cent out there today.

"I jumped out to make it but I was happy enough when a couple of them went on, and I had the box seat then. As soon as I got into a battle she toughed it out well."

McGuinness veterans on the ball

A rough week for trainer Ado McGuinness, during which his brother Johnnie died after a short illness, at least ended on a positive note when two of his stalwarts landed both divisions of the mile handicap.

Former Galway Mile winner Sirjack Thomas was down to a mark of 62 in the first division, having won his big Galway pot off 90 in 2021. It was also the first leg of a double in the two divisions for the season's leading apprentice Adam Caffrey.

Winning for the eighth time, the nine-year-old looks set to head back to Ballybrit in three weeks' time.

McGuinness said: "I needed to go up a few pounds to get into one of those lower-grade handicaps at Galway, so hopefully he will get in now. He has never really run well on this surface before, but it was not a wonderful race. We just thought that a horse of his class had a chance."

Completing the double for trainer, jockey and owners Dooley Thoroughbreds was the teak-tough seven-year-old Comfort Line, appearing quickly after finishing mid-division at Leopardstown the night before.

McGuinness said: "He grubbed up last night and did a half-hour on the beach this morning, so we decided we had nothing to lose. When he gets back into that grade, he wins. 

"He might have booked his ticket to the west too. Adam was very good on him. He's a lazy horse at home, but Adam has got to know him well and gave him a great spin.

"It's great for the yard; we have had a rough week."

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