O’Brien maintains stranglehold with Necklace
Michael Kinane swooped in the last furlong on the 5-4 favourite to beat Red Feather and Clive Brittain’s Menhoubah.
The other British challenger, Alan Jarvis’s River Belle, could never get in a blow.
The second O’Brien runner, Oh So Precious, took them along in the early stages of the seven-furlong contest, with Red Feather and Menhoubah in close attendance.
The eventual placed horses then took over, but Kinane had Necklace poised to strike and when he asked for maximum effort in the final furlong, she wore them down.
Necklace won by a length, with Red Feather taking second by a short head.
O’Brien, who was at Deauville, reported: “Necklace will be trained for the 1000 Guineas and the Oaks next season, but she may run again this year.
“She probably would prefer more ease in the ground.”
Paddy Power quoted her at 14-1 for Newmarket and 10-1 for Epsom after the race, but Ladbrokes eased her out to 25-1 for the Guineas.
Kinane said: “The ground was quick enough for her, but she has loads of heart and scope. There is plenty to look forward to with her.”
Second-placed Red Feather may go for the Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp, according to trainer Eddie Lynam.
“She has run a blinder and another furlong would be no harm to her,” he said.
Brittain reported of Menhoubah: “I felt we would be in the frame and it’s nice to come here and get her Group One-placed.
“The cheekpieces helped her concentrate, and that’s the icing on top for this season. She probably won’t run again until next year.”
With River Belle a big disappointment, Kevin Darley said: “She might still be a bit weak. She hit a flat spot at halfway and then was doing it when it was all over.”
Trainer Jarvis added: “That was not her running. She seemed to get stopped in her run, which didn’t help.
“I don’t think the trip was the problem, and we might look at the Fillies’ Mile at Ascot. But the ground was quick enough today.”
Roger Charlton’s course and distance winner Deportivo justified 11-10 favouritism in the Big Shuffle Flying Five.
The three-year-old tracked leader Repertory until Richard Hughes asked him to go on under two furlongs out, as Richard Hannon’s Bonus faded. Deportivo quickened up nicely to hold the late challenge of Daganya by a length and a half in the Group Two contest.
Charlton said: “Deportivo has more than earned his keep this season thanks to the Irish prize money.
“He is in the Prix de l’Abbaye, but the ground might be too soft for him. I imagine he’d stay in training next year unless somebody wanted him as a stallion.”
Hughes added: “He travelled well and picked up nicely. He has turned into a man of a horse.”
Charlton had news of Three Valleys, who was a big disappointment when only third at the Curragh earlier this month.
“The horse was fine when he came home and he’ll run again this season, probably in the Mill Reef Stakes at Newbury (on September 19),” he said.
lJockey Jimmy Fortune collapsed with severe back trouble in the changing room after the Moyglare Stud Stakes.
Fortune had been beaten a short head for second place on the Clive Brittain-trained Menhoubah in the Group One contest.
He was attended to in the changing room before being taken to the course medical centre.
Medical officer Dr Adrian McGoldrick said: “He has been struggling with a back injury for two and a half months.
“He has had a lot of physio, and he rode on painkillers.
“His back gave way suddenly after the race. The lower back is locked, with the symptoms of acute disc lesion.”
