Zabarajad scrapes home

SIXTH in the Irish 2,000 Guineas and narrowly beaten at listed level, the John Oxx trained Zabarajad scraped home to land odds of 30/100 in the opening Bennettsbridge Maiden at Gowran Park last night.

The Invincible Spirit colt, turned over at an even shorter price in a Tipperary maiden last time, gave his supports plenty of anxious moments and needed all of Johnny Murtagh’s strength to mount his challenge inside the final furlong, before being slightly hampered by President Lincoln and getting up close home to snatch the spoils by a head.

Winning trainer Oxx commented: “I suppose he kept punters who backed him on the edge of their seats. But he won anyway and will hardly be rated 105 after this performance.