There was a Ballydoyle winner of the P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax Stakes for the 13th time, but not the horse the market expected, as 11/1 shot Christmas Day beat stablemate Endorsement (17/2), while Epsom Derby favourite Pierre Bonard (evens fav) disappointed in seventh.
Ronan Whelan set the pace aboard the eventual runner-up, while Wayne Lordan settled Christmas Day behind the leaders, while the favourite was shuffled back to mid-division. Christmas Day ran on well on the stands’ side in the straight and headed the leader inside the final furlong, running on to lead by half a length on the line. Donnacha O’Brien’s representative A Boy Named Susie finished well under Oisin Murphy to take third.
O’Brien later attributed the favourite’s disappointment to how the race was run, saying: “It was a bit of a stop/start race, but we were happy. Wayne was very happy with his horse, so was Ronan.
“Ryan said he would have preferred to be handier and in a bit more of a rhythm. He ended up where he ended up; he said he was in on the bad ground. He was very happy with the horse, he said he gave two blows.”
O’Brien expects plenty of improvement from all his runners, he continued, saying: “I was just worried coming here that all the horses were going to need the run very badly, and all of them are having a blow or two, probably more than usual.
“You know the winner is a smart horse – he won a group race here and we were going to run him in a Group 1 next but he got a temperature. Wayne said he will stay further, and Ronan said the same with his fella. I think Ryan’s horse will leave the run well behind him, so we’re still happy that we got the run into him.”
The trainer confirmed that he plans for Pierre Bonard to return for a Derby trial at the track, with the possibility of stablemates joining him at Leopardstown before travelling to Epsom. He remains favourite for the Derby, though he is now 6/1 favourite, having been 7/2 favourite before Sunday’s performance. Christmas Day shortened from 40/1 to 12/1 for Epsom glory.