MOSS Tucker comprehensively reversed previous Cork places with Tenebrism when getting well on top in the closing stages to land the Listed Anglesey Lodge Equine Hospital Woodlands Stakes at Naas on Monday.

The Ken Condon-trained gelding was beaten five lengths by the same rival in the six-furlong Listed Cork Stakes earlier this month but made virtually all here over the minimum trip finishing strongly under Billy Lee to beat 2/5 shot Tenebrism by a length and a half.

“On the face of it the last day was slightly disappointing but Billy came back in and said put a line through that as he slightly missed the break and they went steady enough for two furlongs,” said Condon of the well-backed 9/2 winner. “That’s more his thing, a stiffer track, and ground seems to come the same to him. He’s a tough, honest, relentless galloper. I’m very fond of horses like him.

“He could look at races like the Greenlands and the Flying Five. We could travel with him and may go to Ascot and he ran in the Abbaye last year so we might go there again.”

The five-year-old son of Excelebration is owned by the Charlie Bit Me Syndicate and former Irish rugby international Donal Spring explained: “We bred him and it’s a bit of a fairytale as we breed cattle and I knew nothing about racing.

“Our family own half the syndicate and Laura Williams, a friend of ours who is mad about horses, has the other half. We’ve had great fun and the Prix de l’Abbaye last year (finished fifth) was an experience I will never forget. He has the heart of a lion and just doesn’t give up.”

Boogie

Tenebrism’s connections went one better half an hour later when Boogie Woogie landed odds of 1/2 in the Race & Stay Fillies Maiden as the daughter of Dubawi was driven clear by Ryan Moore inside the final furlong to score by five and a half lengths.

“She was green the first day and got beaten three times last year but we always liked her,” said Aidan O’Brien. “The plan was to come here and if everything went well she might go for the Oaks Trial at Lingfield. It would be a good education for her and she’d learn plenty there.

WAYNE Lordan recorded a career milestone when partnering his 1,000th winner aboard course specialist Blairmayne in the six-furlong handicap.

The 10-year-old gelding, who was landing this race for the second successive year and bringing his winning tally at Naas to four, led well over a furlong out and dug deep in the closing stages to hold off Iva Batt by a head.

“I never thought that I would ride 1,000 winners but I’ve been lucky enough to ride some good horses and in plenty of Group 1s. It’s a hard thing to do with the jockeys that we have here. It’s very competitive and I’m delighted,” said Lordan who won the 1000 Guineas on both Winter and Hermosa and also nominated Iridessa’s victory in the Breeders’ Cup as a major highlight.

Natalia Lupini trains the 11/1 winner for the Raintree Racing Partnership and said: “He’s been a legend for the yard and runs well fresh this time of the year. The ground today (soft to heavy) was a bit of a concern but he was in such tremendous form at home that we had to take the chance.

“Wayne as usual gave him a brilliant ride. We have him in at Cork so hopefully we’ll get in the seven-furlong premier handicap (on May 5th) with a win under his belt. He was second there last year.”

Joe Murphy’s Fethard yard has made a bright start to the season and the Gerard Kervick-owned Immutable kept up the good work on his seasonal debut in the Naas Racecourse Business Club Blackwater Premier Handicap over a mile.

The 11/4 chance kept on gamely under pressure for Gary Carroll to get the better of Something Nice by half a length and Murphy’s son and assistant Joe junior said: “He has a good attitude and probably goes on any ground.

“Going up in distance will probably help him and he’ll go for either the Royal County Handicap at Navan or the Ulster Derby. All his form is on slower ground but that’s just the way it has worked out and he hasn’t had the opportunity to run on a good surface.”

JOANNA Morgan saddled her first winner since taking out a licence again last year after a seven-year break as Persian Queen (17/2) got the better of a protracted duel with Golden Spangle in the Racing TV Club Members Handicap, keeping on well for Conor Stone-Walsh to prevail by three-quarters of a length.

“I took out the licence again as I have three nice horses and Katie (daughter) is so busy this time of year with breeze-up horses,” said Morgan.

“This horse had a lot of trouble with allergies last year as we are surrounded by fields of rapeseed.

“She loves the ground and it couldn’t be heavy enough. She is in foal to Kuroshio and is owned by my 95-year-old mother Margaret.”

Ribchestina, trained by Sheila Lavery for her brother John, made a winning debut in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.

The 12/1 chance squeezed through a gap over a furlong out and kept on strongly under Robbie Colgan to beat the odds-on Vanity Pays by two lengths.

“We always thought she did her few canters at home really nicely and everything she does she learns from. She’s probably really a seven-furlong horse and I couldn’t pull her up!” said Colgan. “She was green through the race but was always in her comfort zone.”

Red Letter Bray followed up a maiden win here on the opening weekend of the turf season and trainer Michael O’Callaghan, who was away at the breeze-up sales, recorded a one-two in the TRM Excellence In Equine Nutrition Handicap as the 7/4 favourite got the better of stablemate King Of Scotia by three quarters of a length.

“He idled when he got there but it’s a fair old slog (on the ground), it’s hard work,” said winning rider Colin Keane. “I do think he’ll be a nicer horse on nice ground because he’s a good moving horse. His ability helped him to get through it.”