Glor Na Mara gets off the mark at 16th attempt
Trained by Jim Bolger, Glor Na Mara, placed at Group 1 level as a juvenile, has tumbled down the ratings (from 113 to 88) this season.
But the home-bred son of Leroidesanimaux made no mistake on this occasion, storming clear inside the final furlong to slam Azores by almost four lengths.
Winning rider Kevin Manning said: “I was impressed - he travelled very well and put the race to bed in a few strides. It was his first run over a mile - maybe that helped.”
Glor Na Mara’s win denied Wayne Lordan, rider of runner-up Azores, a treble following earlier wins on Nero Emperor and Gordon Lord Byron.
Suited by the drop back to five furlongs, the Tommy Stack-trained Nero Emperor made all to land the opening two-year-old maiden, slamming odds-on favourite Wasabi’s House by five and a half lengths and prompting Lordan to comment: “We were worried about the six furlongs the last day but, back in trip, I just let him use his speed tonight.”
Lordan was seen at his strongest on the Tom Hogan-trained course and distance winner Gordon Lord Byron in the dundalkstadium.com Handicap, Morgan Cahalan’s gelding getting home by a neck from longshot Tell The Wind in a blanket-finish.
Apprentice Keith Sexton, from Nurney, County Kildare, registered his second success - and his first for his boss Jessica Harrington - when Canaille defied top-weight in the nursery while the Andy Oliver-trained Mutasareb (25/1) proved the shocker of the night when landing the Christmas Party Packages At Dundalk Apprentice Handicap under Shane Gray.
On a bleak night for punters, Michael Halford provided a successful favourite in the finale, the Follow Dumdalk Stadium On Facebook Handicap, when the Shane Foley-ridden 11/4 favourite Elizabeth Coffee got the better of Master Melody.
