Impressive Mill Quest’s good form continues at Tramore
PROLIFIC mare Mill Quest secured a fourth win within the last six weeks in the feature race at Tramore.
The eight-year-old, trained by Gordon Elliott, changed disciplines for the McCarthys Irish Bar Lexington Handicap Chase, having won over hurdles at Downpatrick a week ago.
Mill Quest, which is rated 21lb inferior over fences, duly made no mistake with a game two-and-a-half-length defeat of Na Trachtalai Abu.
Jockey Jack Kennedy said of the 10/11 favourite: “She is a very nice mare and is very versatile, whether it’s hurdles or fences, or the ground.
CRAIC
“It’s nice for the lads (the Coolglen Syndicate), who are getting great craic out of her. She is a good fun horse for the summer. She jumped and travelled great.”
Willie Mullins and Ruby Walsh combined to land a short-priced double, courtesy of wins for and Karl Der Grosse and Getareason.
Karl Der Grosse set the ball rolling in the Frank Gillane Memorial Maiden Hurdle, in which he was sent off the 8/15 favourite on his debut for the Mullins yard.
Always travelling smoothly, Karl Der Grosse took control at the last flight to easily deny stablemate Sweet Flight by eight lengths.
Walsh said: “He had a run in France and had that bit of experience. He did it nicely. You can’t beat experience and he had that advantage over the second horse.”
Getareason brought up the double, making no mistake in the Comeragh Veterinary Maiden Hurdle. The 1/5 favourite stayed on strongly to easily beat Cusp Of Carabelli by six and a half lengths.
Walsh said: “He only had to repeat his Galway run to win here. A very good horse of Martin Brassil’s (City Island) beat him at Galway.”
Elsewhere, Aidan O’Brien’s Land Force finished fourth as Pretty Pollyanna got the better of Signora Cabello in a terrific duel for the Darley Prix
Morny at Deauville.
The two British-trained fillies dominated the finish, with Pretty Pollyanna just coming out on top for trainer Michael Bell and jockey Silvestre de Sousa.
Pretty Pollyanna had won the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes by seven lengths at Newmarket and showed that form was no fluke as she took the first Group One race of the season for two-year-olds in France.
Urban Fox was denied a second Group One success when collared close home by Nonza in the Darley Prix Jean Romanet.
STRONG
Winner of the Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh, the William Haggas-trained four-year-old made another strong bid for honours, but was just run out of it in the final strides.
She hit the front in the straight under James Doyle, after Jessica Harington’s I’m So Fancy had set the pace, but Nonza, trained by Henri-Francois Devin, was produced by Alexis Badel to land the spoils by a narrow margin.
Andre Fabre is keen to step Kitesurf up in class after her easy victory in the Group Two Darley Prix de Pomone.
Mickael Barzalona’s companion, owned by Godolphin, had a lot of work to do turning into the straight, but ended up with three and a half lengths in hand over Palombe.