A MAGICAL PERFORMANCE
STAR mare Magical completed a weekend Group 1 double for Aidan O’brien and Seamus Heffernan when justifying 2/5 favouritism in the Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh yesterday.
The five-year-old made all and had her four rivals in trouble early in the straight before coasting home four and a half lengths clear of three-year-old Cayenne Pepper to record her fifth Group 1 success.
Final leg of a treble for O’brien and Heffernan, also successful on Hudson River and Napa Valley, Magical is now likely to head for the King George at Ascot.
O’brien said: “She was going to be covered by No Nay Never but she changed and strengthened over the winter and the lads decided to keep her in training. Her work has been brilliant. She could have gone to Sandown (for next Sunday’s Eclipse, now the target of stablecompanion Japan). But this was a lovely stepping stone for her.”
On Saturday, O’brien saddled his 14th winner of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby, Santiago, which led home a 1-2-3-4 for Ballydoyle.
Making a quick reappearance after winning the Queen’s Vase at Royal Ascot, the
Authorized colt held stable-companion Tiger
Moth in a titanic tussle.
Heffernan won Ireland’s premier classic for the fourth time while Santiago became the 20th Irish Derby winner for the Coolmore/ballydoyle operation – the late, legendary Vincent O’brien trained six and Aidan now has 14.
Joseph O’brien, who shared a group-race double with Wayne Lordan on Saturday (Buckhurst and Twilight Payment) won the Group 2
Weatherbys Irelands Greenlands Stakes with the tough and consistent grey Speak In Colours, the biggest win of apprentice Shane Crosse’s career.
Speak In Colours, twice successful at both listed and Group 3 level, was making his breakthrough in Group 2 company.
The Rockingham Handicap produced a thriller with Colin Keane getting the Kieran Cotter-trained 5/2 favourite Strong Johnson home by a short-head from Jungle Jane, with gallant top-weight Urban Beet a similar distance away in a three-way photo-finish.
And the season’s leading rider Shane Foley, inset, notched his 24th win bringing top-weight Njord from the back of the field to land the Equine Medirecord Handicap convincingly for Jessica Harrington.