Seamus Heffernan hails 'beautiful' Capulet after winning debut
EXCITING PROSPECT: Capulet and Seamie Heffernan (far side) gets the better of Huxley to win for Aidan O'Brien. Picture: Healy Racing
Enjoying a tremendous season with his two-year-olds, Aidan O’Brien introduced another potentially high-class colt in Capulet to score on his debut in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden in Dundalk, the second leg of a double for his trainer and Seamus Heffernan.
Always close to the pace, the son of Justify, a well-backed 6-4 second favourite, became involved in a battle with market rivals Huxley and Nor Time Nor Tide up the straight and displayed a commendable attitude in seeing off Huxley by three-quarters of a length.
“He’s a beautiful, big horse and I liked him plenty,” stated Heffernan. “Aidan told me to ride him wherever he was comfortable. He has a beautiful way of galloping and gave me a beautiful feel.
“He felt like he’s a proper racehorse. He has a good attitude and kept finding and responding.”
The Ballydoyle double was initiated when Hispanic, wide-margin winner of a Curragh maiden last October but disappointing this season, made all and held the challenge of Dandyville by a nose in the six-furlong Bar One Racing Wishing Kevin O’Hare A Happy Retirement Handicap.
“He’s been disappointing,” admitted the winning rider. “It was the backend of last year when he came good and bolted up in a Curragh maiden, on soft ground — we thought he was a stakes horse at that stage. So, maybe, he’s just coming to himself again.”
Trainer Ross O’Sullivan enjoyed a welcome change of luck when stable stalwart Longbourn landed the featured Irish Stallion Farms ‘Red God’ (Premier) Handicap, hanging on by a short-head from Ceallach, with top-weight San Andreas third and last year’s winner Golden Twilight fourth.
The first leg of a double, bringing his seasonal tally to 38, for Dylan Browne McMonagle, completed on French Company in the finale, seven-year-old Longbourn was registering his first win since June 2021. His strainer declared: “We’ve had great sport out of him — he brought us to Bahrain last year. And it’s unbelievable to win such a big pot with him."
O'Sullivan added: “We’ve had six seconds in the last fortnight, which can be frustrating, but a winner is everything. He was rated 88 today and will go up a few pounds, so he’ll get into plenty of good handicaps — he might run on Champions Weekend. The key to him is a bit of nice ground.”
With his team, gradually hitting top form, John Murphy took the Bar One Racing Price Boosts Apprentice Maiden with the lightly-raced Exceed And Excel colt Signatory, a convincing winner under Conor Stone-Walsh.
The Willie McCreery-trained Bella Colombia (25-1) triumphed, on debut, in the two-year-old fillies maiden, scoring under Nathan Crosse at the expense of 4-11 favourite Ashwiyaa.
And, appreciating the drop in grade, Eddie Lynam’s Punk Poet (Ben Coen) and the Ado McGuinness-trained Skontonovski (Ronan Whelan) landed their respective divisions of the one-mile 47-65 handicap.
