Patrick Mullins enjoyed a 14/1 bumper winner on Limerick after taking his mount onto the all-weather gallop on several occasions.
The going at Limerick was officially heavy and horses were finding it extremely hard work, with the first six races having an aggregate winning distance of 83 lengths.
Mullins, the leading amateur and assistant trainer to his father Willie, was riding 14/1 outsider for trainer Paul Hennessy in the concluding Irish Stallion Farms EBF Auction (Pro/Am) Flat Race, and he took matters into his own hands to try and give his mount the best possible chance of success.
From the outset, the 36-year-old rider angled the keen-going Of Land And Sea to the outside of the course and raced on the all-weather gallop in the back straight - typically used for horses to get down to the start. He tucked back in to race with the rest of the pack for the remainder of the contest but went back onto the same strip on the second circuit as well, nipping out and back in to avoid the 'wings' of where the obstacles would be on the hurdles course.
Of Land And Sea appeared to gain a significant advantage in avoiding the deep turf where possible and turned for home with a near 10-length lead. The 5/1 chance Jury Time stayed on for second but the winner was kept up to his work to claim an opportunistic, nine-length victory.
The winning jockey, who admitted he took inspiration from his father, told Sporting Life: "I actually tried the same thing on Blizzard Of Oz a few years ago, and Jody Townend came and beat me, on Captain Cody as it turned out.
"I always remember hearing a story about Willie winning in Clonmel by going down the ambulance road one day when it was very heavy. Unfortunately you can't get out onto the ambulance road at Clonmel any more!
"It's great when it works out, but obviously you run the risk of looking silly when it doesn't."
WATCH: Remarkable Patrick Mullins ride at Limerick to win on 14/1 outsider
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Daryl Jacob, who was on Racing TV duty analysing the race afterwards, said: "All he's doing is going out on to the all-weather, coming back in between the wings, then back out again. There's absolutely no reason in the rule book to say he can't do it.
"The amount of energy that horse has saved by going up on the all-weather track. It's good ground on there, they're all galloping on heavy ground, and that's why Patrick Mullins is the master, the artist of riding in bumpers. No stone is unturned, he's out there every time he's racing running the course and finding out where is get to go and where he can go."
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