Jack Kennedy in red-hot form as he teams up with Gordon Elliott for Sligo double

Firm Footings laid the foundations for a Friday double for Gordon Elliott and Jack Kennedy as he landed the opening 2m1½f hurdle before Will Do justified his skimpy odds in the 3m1½f maiden hurdle. 

Kennedy has now been successful on eight of his last 17 rides as he lays his own foundations for another crack at the Irish jump jockeys' championship.

A close-up sixth to Iroko in the Martin Pipe at Cheltenham in March, Firm Footings made a winning seasonal reappearance in gutsy fashion and repelled the challenge of odds-on favourite Horantzau D'Airy by a length and a quarter. The further he went, the better he looked, so he might go up in trip when he is sent over fences. 

Will Do is a relentless galloper and those who took the short odds of 2-5 didn't have an anxious moment as the Cork bumper winner was always in command on the way to a six-and-a-half-length victory over 22-1 outsider Insouciant Dallier. 

Elliott said of his two winners: "Firm Footings is a good solid horse with a great attitude and he dug deep. When he steps up in trip down the line, he should develop into a nice staying chaser.

"Will Do is a good stayer. He loves galloping and he showed that when he won his bumper at Cork and although he looked beaten a few times there, he still managed to win it. He's a nice horse going forward and hopefully he will win plenty of races."

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