AT the end of another landmark week for Aidan O’Brien, it was quite appropriate that the Ballydoyle trainer should land the penultimate pattern race of the domestic season as Kenya struck gold in the Group 3 Killavullan Stakes.
This colt was having his third run in 18 days as he looked to give his trainer a first win in this race since 2013.
The Donnacha O’Brien-ridden son of Galileo was the 7/4 favourite to follow up his wide-margin maiden victory at Cork eight days previously.
Kenya was going nicely as the seven runners neared the straight and he soon began to stretch his rivals. For most of the straight he maintained a useful lead and always seemed to be doing enough. He came home with a length to spare over the Naas maiden scorer Mcmunigal, while the winner’s stablemate Bye Bye Baby was a further half-length back in third.
“Donnacha said that he would have no problem going up in trip,” said O’Brien. “He’s a grand, big, genuine horse. He gallops and handles an ease in the ground. I’d imagine it’s unlikely that he will run again this season.”
O’Brien then landed the Listed Trigo Stakes as the 11-race maiden Bound (5/1) ended her career in a blaze of glory. A stakes-placed runner last season, this Galileo filly shaped up well to take fourth in a listed race at Naas last week and she coped with a drop back to 10 furlongs.
Seamie Heffernan got the 94-rated filly to the front early in the straight and Bound showed a fine attitude to contain the persistent challenge of Cannonball by one and three-quarter lengths.
“She’s a filly that Seamie always liked and he was very keen to ride her today,” reported O’Brien. “She’s a very honest filly but we didn’t always get a clear run with her and she’s probably a better filly than she’s gotten to show.”
CLASSICS
Thoughts were already turning to next year’s classics after Dermot Weld unveiled a potentially top-class prospect in Contingent in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden. The Khalid Abdullah-owned daughter of Frankel and the Prix Marcel Boussac heroine Proportional had to overcome a stall 18 draw and she was posted wide for most of this one-mile contest.
However, she picked up in some style off the last bend to surge to the front and open up an unassailable advantage. At the line, Contingent (9/4) had one and three-quarter lengths to spare over Awtaad’s unraced half-sister Alghabrah.
“Weld reflected: “She’s filly with a lot of talent and I’d be looking at an Oaks trial with her next spring but Pat did say that she could be a Guineas filly as well.”
Aidan O’Brien also picked up the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (C&G) Maiden where James Cook built on his debut second to McMunigal at Naas last month.
In a time that was just under a second slower than that posted by Contingent, the Seamie Heffernan-ridden James Cook (4/7) made most of the running. The staying-on newcomer Latrobe was bearing down over the last furlong but Found’s younger brother held on by half a length.
“He was still very green from the front but you’d have to be happy with that and I’d say we’ll leave him alone until next season,” remarked the trainer.
PACE
After showing a very reasonable level of ability on her first three runs, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Baroness (7/2) turned the mile nursery into an utterly one-sided affair.
The daughter of Declaration Of War sat on the pace for Donnacha O’Brien and wasted no time settling the outcome when she kicked for home off the last bend. The Sue Magnier-owned filly kept on powerfully over the last furlong and a half to defeat Magic Sea by almost four lengths.
“She had a lovely first run but hated the heavy ground the next day and then she got flittered coming out of the stalls at Dundalk last time so she ended up being rated 79 through circumstances,” reflected the trainer. “She should make a nice, middle-distance type filly next year and she might progress into getting blacktype at some point.”
A tilt at next weekend’s Naas November Handicap is up next for Grand Partner following his victory in the Club Godolphin Student Initiative Handicap. After a series of solid runs in premier handicaps, the Tom Mullins inmate took advantage of a drop in class and once again showed his liking for this track. Billy Lee’s mount had plenty to do from midfield nearing the straight but then came with a sustained charge that got him to the front inside the final furlong.
The 6/1 chance got home by a length from the four-timer chasing The Last Indian.
“He’ll go for the Naas November Handicap next and then he will go chasing,” stated Mullins whose wife Helen owns the nine-year-old. “Billy said he didn’t travel today but when he did get going he stayed on well.”
Danny Sheehy and Adrian Keatley teamed up to take the one-mile Yulong Trophy Handicap with Lucky Mistake (11/2) who made it two wins from four runs since returning from a near year long absence last month.
Lucky Mistake and Perfect Soldier duelled for supremacy over the last furlong and a half and the Andrew Davis-owned bottom weight was just too strong in the closing stages where he drew on to score by one and three-quarter lengths.
Corinthian winners
JUST as he did 12 months ago, Sheikh Fahad Al Thani claimed the final leg of the Corinthian Challenge Charity Race Series. Last year Sheikh Fahad triumphed on the subsequent Cheltenham hero Labaik but this time he teamed up with his own Brutal who saw off Circling Moon by one and three-quarter lengths.
The overall winner of the three-race series was Lynne McLoughlin who took the opening leg of this year’s series at the Curragh in July.
ACTING STEWARDS
T. Hunt, R. Ryan, P. Reynolds, J. Murphy, M.F. O’Donoghue
Horse To Follow
LATROBE (J.P. O’Brien): This colt made a very pleasing start to his career when finishing a half-length second to James Cook. He looks a fine middle-distance prospect for 2018 and could win at a much higher level.