PLOUGH Boy (9/1) has been a tremendous servant for all his connections, first in England and for the last five and a half years in Ireland, and it was no wonder that trainer Garvan Donnelly had a beaming smile as the son of Dandy Man stayed on well to hold off Baby Power in the Sobac Soil.ie Handicap at Fairyhouse.

Donnelly was totting up his first winner of the season but it was a 15th career triumph for Plough Boy, whose versatility is illustrated by the fact that Fairyhouse was the 13th racecourse he has recorded success on.

The nine-year-old stalked early leader Red Cymbal but jockey Shane Crosse was left in front at the two-furlong pole, albeit travelling well. It looked like Plough Boy felt he had the job done as Baby Power closed but the veteran responded once more when challenged to prevail by a neck.

“When I saw (stall) 14 I was a bit worried but he’s very good out of the stalls” said Donnelly. “He’d a great run last week (when fifth in Navan). He’s been bouncing out since. The rain thankfully stayed away. He’s a very game horse and it’s lovely to have him.

“I made an entry for him in Navan next week. He’s a very sound horse and wants top of the ground, so he’ll be pitching up again.”

Crosse was gushing in his plaudits.

“An absolute superstar of a horse” declared the jockey. “He’s getting better with age. I won on him in the beach at Laytown. Garvan said he was only riding out a month but that’s what you do with the older horses.

“We always seem to get a bad draw with him but he’s a professional out of the stalls and we got nearly three lengths off them from the start. He is a talented old performer.”

Ger Lyons is a classic-winning trainer now after Siskin’s Irish 2000 Guineas win but the secret to his success is that he has built a very deep team and Glenburnie Stables landed both the opening juvenile maidens with smart debutants.

Luminesce (6/4f) had a length and a half in hand on Mahaaseel under Colin Keane in the Irish Stallion Farm EBF Fillies Maiden, but it was the yard’s second string, Shalaalaa (11/4) that scored in the colts’ and geldings’ version.

Gary Carroll got the Shalaa colt to the lollipop a short-head in front of Twilight Heir with the Lyons favourite, Colour Sergeant in third.

Seamie Heffernan dictated proceedings in trademark fashion in winning the concluding Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden for three-year-olds on Memorabilis (11/4).

Tracked by market leader Taramansour throughout, Memorabilis might even have been headed in the straight but Heffernan had kept enough under his sleeve and the Aidan O’Brien-trained Galileo colt stayed on stoutly to score comfortably.

The Ballydoyle horse parted company with his rider when jinking after the post, fortunately leaving him with nothing worse than a bloody lip after making contact with a stray leg.

Wayne Lordan took the brave man’s route up the rail on Amazing One (14/1) in Division 1 of the Sobac Soil.ie Thank You Customers Handicap and like a few of them off a steady pace, had to sit and suffer until an opportunity presented itself.

When pacesetter Eacharn edged slightly off the rail into the whip, which Ben Coen had in the correct left hand, Lordan pounced and Thomond O’Mara’s filly flew up the paint to establish a telling lead, Eleuthera finishing three-parts of a length back in second.

Irish Grand National-winning trainer Dot Love has increased her flat presence this term and she combined with Mikey Sheehy to garner the second division with The Mpex Kid (10/1), who was running in the trainer’s colours.

The Thanks To All Our Frontline Workers Handicap went to Romantically (12/1), who benefited from a positive ride by the red-hot Billy Lee.

The Willie McCreery-trained four-year-old filly had won previously over two miles so Lee made full use of her stamina over a half-mile less, sending her for home early and galloping all the way to the line to defeat the favourite Tonkinese.

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