Famous Name roadshow rolls on
Trained by Dermot Weld for Khalid Abdullah, the son of Dansili was winning the Group 3 race for the third consecutive year and bringing his career tally to 18 wins from 35 starts. Seventeen of those successes have been achieved in stakes company — eleven Group 3 races and six at listed level.
Last night’s race followed a familiar pattern — Pat Smullen tracked front-running Defining Year and Windsor Palace. The former champion made his move turning for home, taking his customary wide course as the leader stayed on the inside rail.
In front approach the furlong-pole, Famous Name sprinted clear to triumph by five and a half lengths, to the delight of his trainer, who enthused: “He says it all and does it all. He loves being a racehorse and loves it around here. I think that’s his seventeenth stakes win, so we must be getting close to records with him.”
Weld added: “I toyed with going back to Germany for the Group 1 on Sunday but changed my mind for a few reasons. They were expecting thirty degrees of heat and thunder-storms on Sunday. He likes nice ground, like tonight’s, but not heavy. And it was going to take almost four days to get to northern Germany”
The change of plan worked perfectly and Weld confirmed the Curragh’s Royal Whip as the next target for Famous Name, before he returns for another cack at the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown in September.
The other Group 3 event on the card, the Korean Racing Authority Tyros Stakes provided a tremendous three-way tussle which saw the Jim Bolger-trained Grafelli, ridden by Kevin Manning, get the better of the Aidan O’Brien-trained odds-on favourite Lines Of Battle by a neck with the latter’s pacemaking stable-companion Kingston Jamaica a head away third.
Grafelli was giving the Coolcullen trainer his ninth win in the Tyros, a race he has won with the likes of Teofilo and New Approach.
Bolger’s charge was landing his second Group 3 contest in five days, having won the Anglesey Stakes at the Curragh on Sunday. The winning trainer admitted: “He recovered well from his win at the Curragh, when he lost only 1kg. He was the same weight coming here today as he was going to the Curragh.
“That was a gutsy performance and he showed his class again. He stays the trip well and should have no difficulty with a mile or further. He’ll have a little break now and will probably head to France on Arc day (for the Group 1 Prix Jean-Luc Legardere).”
Aidan and Joseph O’Brien, narrowly denied with Lines Of Battle, had enjoyed better luck in the opening Irish Stallion Farms 2-Y-0 Maiden when Afonso De Sousa, a morning gamble and sent off 4/9 favourite bolted up, making all to slam Angela’s Dream by nine lengths.
It was a case of third-time-lucky for the son of Henrythenavigator, which clearly appreciated the drying, if dead, ground as his trainer confirmed: “The better ground made an amazing difference to him. He’s like his father Henrythenavigator, who hated soft ground himself.”
O’Brien indicated a step-up in class for Afonso De Sousa next time, with the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes a possible target.
The O’Briens completed a double when I Have A Dream, winner of a maiden at Bellewstown last time, stepped into handicap company successfully in the Dublin Horse Show Handicap, producing an impressive staying performance to foil favourite and fellow three-year-old Shelford. Joseph is now five clear of Pat Smullen in the title-race.
“She’s a rare Oratorio in that she wants top of the ground and we’ve been waiting, waiting, waiting to run her,” explained John Oxx after 11/8 favourite Katiola landed the concluding mile-and-a-half maiden by a half-length from Jack Daddy. “He run in soft ground in the spring told us nothing. She’s a nice relaxed filly and should keep improving. We’ll look for a fillies handicap for her now.”
In the earlier handicap action, Waltzing Cat gave trainer Bill Farrell his second win in twenty-four hours when accounting for favourite Xsquard in the Minutes Apprentice Handicap.
A delighted Farrell quipped: “Marc (Monaghan) gave her a terrific ride. I just wanted to win a race with her, to prove that Sir Mark Prescott is over-rated!”
Fairy Wing, appreciating the drying ground, justified strong support (9/2 to 3/1) in the Morocco SOREC Handicap, prompting his trainer Jessica Harrington to explain: “I was going to wait for Galway, but came here for the better ground. He’s entered next week, but will only go there if the ground dries out. He has come a long way in a year and a wind operation has probably helped him.”
