Kool Kompany puts Coventry disappointment behind him with Railway romp
He had the worst of the draw, in one, but Fran Berry did a superb job and soon had him bowling along in front.
The son of Jeremy then lengthened in style in the closing stages to sweep clear of Ahlan Emarati and score by an easy two lengths.
Said Berry: “He quickened between the two and the one furlong marker and put the race to bed.
“He was in the stalls for a while and got a bit anxious, but jumped well. If he learns to relax will have no trouble getting seven furlongs. It is hard to get on these horses in Ireland, it is great when it happens, big-time.”
Ger Lyons’ Capella Sansevero was a strong favourite, but ran no sort of race, struggling from a fair way out.
He was bought on the eve of Royal Ascot by Qatar Racing Ltd for £1.3m and it certainly does not look money that was well spent.
The Listed Dubai Duty Free Millenium Millionaire Celebration Stakes was won by Aidan O’Brien’s Giovanni Boldini.
He found it difficult enough to get a clear run for much of the straight, but soon put the contest to bed once switched out to challenge by Joseph O’Brien.
Said Aidan: “He loves fast ground and, I’d say, is a horse that has to be produced late.”
Tommy Stack introduced a decent newcomer in Accepted to turn over O’Brien’s Cape Clear Island in the Dubai Duty Free Full Of Surprises EBF Maiden.
Cape Clear Island had performed with real promise on his debut on this track and went off favourite.
Accepted, however, who ran near the front throughout, found loads for Wayne Lordan pressure to hold the market leader in the final hundred yards, the verdict a short head.
Stack’s son, Fozzy, did the honours and said: “He’s a nice horse and has always worked well. He will come back here for the Anglesey, or something like that. He is the type of horse that if you show him something, he will do it better the next time.”
Aidan O’Brien’s hitherto disappointing Fountain Of Youth cropped up at 14-1, he was the complete outsider of the six-strong field and one of three winners for the Ballydoyle maestro, in the Group 3 Dubai Duty Free Finest Surprise Sapphire Stakes.
The son of Oasis Dream had been a constant failure over longer journeys, but showed his liking for being dropped down to the minimum five furlongs here.
English challenger, Extortionist, ran fast from the start, but Seamie Heffernan got a steady response from Fountain Of Youth and they nailed the favourite close home. Said O’Brien: “We have obviously been running him over the wrong trip, we’ve been trying to get him to stay a mile on heavy ground.
“Hopefully, he will get it together after that and will stick to five and six furlongs in the future.”
Paul Midgley would hardly be the biggest name training horses in Britain, but will be better known after saddling Line Of Reason to win the valuable Paddy Power Scurry Handicap.
It was the first occasion Midgley has brought horses to Ireland and this was his biggest success to date.
Partnered by Leigh Roche, the winner was in front over a furlong down to beat Zalty by half a length.
Commented Midgley: “We have always had a lot of faith in him, always thought he was a good horse.
“He was castrated in the winter and needed time to mature. You just knew that when he got his ground and a fast pace that there was a big one in him. He will probably go for the William Hill Sprint at York now.”
Roche capped a terrific afternoon’s work when powering Dermot Weld’s Sparkle Factor to a neck success over Tobann in the concluding Summer Fillies Handicap.
Johnny Murtagh’s Mutual Regard shrugged off top weight to land the Dubai Duty Free Tennis Championship EBF Handicap, buckling down through the final furlong for Ross Coakley to resist Edge Of Sanity. It was a fine display by the five year-old, who used to be trained by Mark Prescott and was making a belated start to the season.
Reported Murtagh: “He loves fast ground. He missed his intended engagement at Cork, but worked extremely well during the week. Ross gave him a great ride and I have the Ebor in mind.”
