Athlone jockey wins race held in memory of late brother

Athlone jockey Rory Cleary won a race held in memory of his late brother, Seán, at Roscommon for the second successive year on Tuesday.

Cleary steered Thatwilldoso to back-to-back wins in the Sean Cleary Memorial Handicap for trainer Kevin Coleman, on Tuesday evening.

The 4/1 joint favourite prevailed by a short head in an exciting finish with the Gavin Cromwell-trained Flying Fortress, having also won the race last year under the Athlone jockey.

Speaking to Racing TV after the race, Rory Cleary said it was “brilliant” to win the race held in memory of Seán.

“To come here to Roscommon which would be our local track, we are originally from Athlone and for them to hold this race in Sean’s memory is just very special and to win it, I’m after winning it a couple of times now, is brilliant,” he said.

Asked to describe Seán, Rory said he was “a typical big brother”.

“Seán was brilliant. We miss him a lot”