Cork Racecourse today received massive praise from trainer Dermot Weld after the Derby winning trainer claimed the Coral.ie Cork Derby today with Alveena for Harzand’s same connections of jockey Pat Smullen and owner the Aga Khan.

The Premier Handicap’s status as a ‘Derby’ may be questionable but Weld was fulsome in his praise of the racecourse later saying “I love this race track - I think it is one of the top tracks of Europe, never mind Ireland.

“I’ve always been a huge supporter of it - I think it is a cracking track and that’s why I run these horses here. Look at what you’ve got (in recent weeks) - the winners of the Derby (Harzand) and Guineas (Jet Setting).”

Regarding Alveena, he added “she reproduced her Curragh run, battled well and got an excellent ride from Pat.

“She is a good brave consistent filly and I thought she would be hard to beat. He (Smullen) got a good position from wide draw and that was the important thing.”

The Derby winning trainer playfully refused to be drawn on whether she would contest the 1m4f Premier Handicap on the Friday on the Galway Festival, merely saying “I think that’s her trip (1m4f) - that’s all I’m saying. I haven’t said anything about plans!”

Regarding his earlier Muster Oaks (Group 3) runner-up Shamreen he added “Shamreen ran a very good race and I think the winner is a very very good filly.”

By Tom Weekes