Rutledge gets the best medicine from Doctor
Siobhan Rutledge made a winning start for trainer Tony Martin when she partnered The Mouse Doctor to a short-head victory in a mile-and-a-half handicap at Dundalk this evening.
Carrying the colours of Tony Martin's Melbourne Cup runner-up Heartbreak City, for the Here For The Craic Syndicate, The Mouse Doctor's last two wins have been with female pilots on board.
The Mouse Doctor won previously at Dundalk in 2019 and since then won over hurdles at Musselburgh and Navan and had an entry in tomorrow's Ladbrokes Hurdle at Leopatrdstown, but didn't get in.
That Navan win last September was a first Irish hurdle win in a Ladies Handicap Hurdle under jockey Aine O'Connor.
Never a man to say too much, trainer Tony Martin commented: “He’s a grand old horse and is in good order, Siobhan was excellent on him."
OTHER MEATH WINNERS
Champion jockey Colin Keane teamed up with trainer Tom McCourt to land the opener at the Louth track with Ecclesiastical.
The Trim jockey made his challenge over a furlong from home and got there by a neck at the line.
Trainer John McConnell was also on the mark when Blackstone Cliff landed a 10- furlong handicap with Emmet McNamara on board.
It was third win for Blackstone Cliff since joining McConnell last year, but the five-year-old could be on the move again next week if someone splashes the cash at the online sale at Goffs on Monday.
The final Meath winner of the night was the Gavin Cromwell-trained Howyoulikethat which shaded the verdict for jockey Gary Carroll.