THE melting pot. Jack Doyle, an Irishman, had just guided Lyonell, a German-bred, for trainer Elizabeth Voss and owner Robert Kinsley, as American-bred as apple pie, to win the Grade 2 Temple Gwathmey Stakes at Middleburg Spring Races last Saturday.

“I said he was a good horse last year,” Doyle said, on his way to the jockeys’ room at Glenwood Park.

In October, the usually understated, Doyle said Lyonell was a proper graded stakes. He had just won a middling handicap at Far Hills and Doyle was proclaiming him as a graded stakes contender.

Six months later, the German-bred seven-year-old backed up those words with a polished score over nine foes in the Grade 2 stakes. Doyle settled Lyonell, making his first graded stakes start, near the back of the competitive group, gradually worked his way into contention before rolling to a comfortable one and a quarter-length score over Zanjabeel, who made a crucial jumping error on the backside, and front-runner Mercouer.

“He’s done it nicely. I’ve always thought the world of him, he seems to have grown up a lot this year, he’s settling well, he jumped brilliantly, I was always just able to put him where I wanted,” Doyle said. “When he got in front, he idled a little, he’s still got a bit to learn but that’s the problem, we don’t have that many options in this country, he wants two and a half miles, he wants nice ground, he’s a fair engine when he does get it.”

STAKES

Lyonell placed himself out of the novice division and the handicap division and looks like a major contender for the spring’s best stakes, the three-mile Iroquois on May 12th.

“You would think three miles at Nashville would be right up his street. He’ll improve off that,” Doyle said. “Elizabeth stuck him in here and asked what we should do, I said, ‘Well, we can give it a go, he’s busting to run, we can see. It obviously worked out well. I could put him wherever I wanted, he jumped brilliantly.”

Doyle tripled on the day to take a commanding lead in the jockey standings.

“Now I have to keep it going,” Doyle said.

Irishmen Darren Nagle doubled and Gerard Galligan singled on the undercard.

All Go from the front

ONE Go All Go rewarded owner Rodney Paden and trainer Charles ‘Scooter’ Dickey with an upset win of the Grade 2 Dixiana Elkhorn at Keeneland last Saturday.

Purchased for $62,000 at the Keeneland November Sale last year, the Virginia-bred son of Fairbanks had collected four runner-up finishes, including back-to-back seconds in Grade 2 stakes at Gulfstream Park.

The gallant front-runner set every fraction of the 12-furlong Elkhorn, staving off challengers through the straight to win by three-quarters of a length over Oscar Nominated and favorite Itsinthepost.

Sadly, the Elkhorn was marred with the breakdown of veteran turf star, Bullards Alley. The six-year-old gelding won the Grade 1 Canadian International last fall and had banked nearly $1 million.

Hawksmoor second

IRISH-bred Hawksmoor finished second in the Dahlia Stakes at Laurel Park last Saturday.

Making her 2018 debut, the Grade 2 stakes winner missed by a nose for Lael Stable and trainer Arnaud Delacour.

Timber win

IRISH-bred Stand Down won his timber debut at the Grand National meet in Maryland last Saturday. Owned by Frank Bonsal and trained by Joe Davies, the six-year-old son of Yeats has flourished at the point-to-points this spring and positioned himself as a promising young timber horse.

Irish-bred Political Theatre finished third behind Stand Down in his timber debut.

Irish-breds in North Carolina

IRISH-breds Taper Tantrum, Lachares, New Member and Laser Light clash in the $75,000 Queen’s Cup Novice Stakes in Charlotte, North Carolina today. Irish-breds Unsinkable, Comanchero, Rashford’s Double, Belisarius and Codrington College compete on the undercard.

Irish-bred Drift Society returns for the Maryland Hunt Cup, the four-mile classic over the stiffest post and rail fences in the world. The 10-year-old just missed in last year’s renewal and finished third the previous year.