THE Irish-bred Azamour gelding Double Bluff, formerly trained by Mark Johnston, landed the South Australian Grand National Hurdle for Aaron Purcel at Morphettville on Saturday. Under the urgings of Shane Jackson, Double Bluff had to dig deep to overhaul the American-bred Giant’s Causeway gelding Andrea Mantegna, winning by a nose in the 3,500-metre journey.

“It was a big win by Double Bluff,” said Purcell. “He was headed by Andrea Mantegna about 500 metres from the finishing line. I must admit I was worried at that stage of the race but full credit to Shane he never panicked. It was a top ride by Shane. I’m sure there’s more improvement in Double Bluff regarding his jumping career. He’s won two of four of his jumps starts. We’ve earmarked Victoria’s $250,000 Grand National Hurdle at Sandown on August 4th as his main target. We may look at the Lafferty Hurdle at Warrnambool next month.”