IMAGING booked his place in the Irish 2000 Guineas with a taking success in the Coolmore Zoffany Irish EBf Tetrarch Stakes at Naas on Monday.

Dermot Weld's charge had displayed an impressive turn of foot when winning at Cork earlier in the year and he repeated the trick here, bursting through a wall of horses in the closing stages to win the Listed contest under Declan McDonogh.

After the 2/1 favourite, owned by Khalid Abdullah, had scored by three parts of a length, Weld said the Irish Guineas in a fortnight's time was the obvious next race for the Oasis Dream colt.

FRANKEL DAUGHTER

The card also featured the Group 3 Coolmore Mastercraftsman Irish EBF Athasi Stakes in which the Ger Lyons-trained Lightening Quick made a winning reappearance.

The daughter of Frankel enjoyed a winning start to her career at Leopardstown last September, but was down the field in the Rockfel Stakes at Newmarket three weeks later.

Making her first start since that Group 2 contest, the Ger Lyons-trained filly was a 9/2 shot for this seven-furlong Group 3 and travelled strongly in the hands of champion jockey Colin Keane.

Top-weight Xenobia cut out much of the running and did not go down without a fight, but Lightening Quick wore her down and responded well to her rider’s urgings late on to score a shade cosily.

Xeonbia ran a fine race to finish second, conceding 12lb to the winner, with Broadway third.

Lyons said afterwards that the Qatar Racing-owned winner was more likely to move down in trip to six furlongs than to step up to a mile in the Irish 1000 Guineas.

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