Romanised triumphs to halt O’Brien juggernaut

RACING: THE Aidan O’Brien juggernaut was halted when 25-1 Romanised pulled off a shock win in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the Curragh.

Romanised was a first Classic winner for local trainer Ken Condon and remarkably ended a winless run for his stable which stretched back 301 days.

The Shane Foleyridden winner came from off the pace to beat Ryan Mooreridden, O’Brien-trained front-runner US Navy Flag by two-and-aquarter lengths.

O’Brien had better luck on the Guineas undercard. His juvenile filly Fairyland, ridden by Seamus Heffernan, booked her Royal Ascot ticket when impressively leading home a 1-2-3 for the trainer in the Marble Hill Stakes.

CRICKET: Jos Buttler hailed England’s Test debutant Dom Bess after the duo frustrated Pakistan on day three at Lord’s. Buttler (66no) and Bess (55no) helped the hosts to 235 for six at the close on a day the top order batsmen again failed to cash in. ‘It was great to spend some time in the middle, we just wanted to scrap hard and get some runs,’ Buttler said. ‘He’s confident and a real scrapper and he really showed that. I wanted to be busy. They bowled very well and I just wanted to get off strike, get ones or twos where I could.’