JOCKEY Wayne Lordan and trainer Joseph O’Brien warmed up for the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby with a treble apiece.

Lordan scored an early double for his boss Aidan O’Brien and if Merchants Navy (6/4jf) was straightforward, he had to work considerably harder on Delphi (11/1), whose stamina kicked in under maximum effort from the saddle to get the better of Carrytheone and Agitare in a pulsating finish to the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden for three-year-old colts and geldings.

The conclusion to the TRM Fillies’ Premier Handicap was no less thrilling as Lordan wore the JP McManus colours more commonly seen over jumps and delivered the Joseph O’Brien-conditioned Music To My Ears (16/1) right over the top of a slew of rivals to chin Johnny Murtagh’s Siamese.

O’Brien had gotten on the board a half hour earlier thanks to a trademark power-packed drive on Gee Rex (4/1f) from Declan McDonogh, who is enjoying a fruitful partnership with Carriganóg Racing this season.

And it was former pony racing prodigy Dylan Browne McMonagle who totted up the trio, adding the Extra.ie Apprentice Derby to the Dingle Derby garnered five years ago by charting a wide path on Tonkinese (6/1), who showed plenty of pluck inside the final furlong to hold off the Mullins-trained Sayo by half a length.

The Shane Foley/Jessica Harrington juggernaut continues to thrive. They recorded another double, with the Kilkenny pilot bringing his tally for the season to 22 and a lead of five over nearest challenger Colin Keane in the jockeys’ table.

Aunt Bee (7/1) was very gutsy in the Anglesea Lodge Equine Hospital Maiden having been in the firing line throughout but it was the last-gasp success of Bearberry (4/1f) in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies’ Maiden that was particularly noteworthy, given how much ground she gave up to the entire field out of the stalls.

Having moved effortlessly into contention without being overworked however, the daughter of Kodiac really lengthened when asked to do so by Foley and a final lunge denied the Michael Halford-trained Feminism by a head.

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