O’Brien ace delivers a Statement of intent
STATEMENT lived up to her name in impressive fashion, powering to a wide-margin success in the Group Three Coolmore US Navy Flag Concorde Stakes at Tipperary yesterday. The Joseph O’Brien trained four-year-old was quickly turned out, having taken a Listed race at Cork on Tuesday, which provided her with just a second career success. Yet the lightlyraced daughter of Lawman proved a completely different proposition over the extended seven-furlong trip, the 5/2 favourite appreciating the soft ground and quickly scooting clear with two furlongs to race under Dylan Browne McMonagle. O’Brien’s assistant, Brendan Powell, said: ‘Dylan was delighted with her, it was even a much improved performance on the other day in Cork. ‘It was softer today and Dylan said she actually quickens on that ground. ‘It was exciting and she’s a filly going forward. ‘Hopefully there are more options for her – if she likes this soft ground, she’s going to get that from now until the end of the season. You’d be thinking she had a tough enough race down in Cork, but she’s come out of it well and she was bucking and kicking the next day.’ There were also two Grade Three hurdles on the card, with Willie Mullins’ Champ Kiely (4/5 favourite) backing up his eye-catching debut over obstacles at Galway when taking the two-mile Fitzgerald’s Woodlands House Hotel Novice
Hurdle. And Jesse Evans (7-4 joint-favourite) put race fitness to good advantage in landing the Horse & Jockey Hotel Hurdle for jockey Bryan Cooper and trainer Noel Meade. Mullins completed a double when Authorized Art put his four rivals to the sword with some quick and accurate jumping in the Grade Three O’Dwyer Steel Dundrum Novice Chase.