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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

Weld wins another Blandford with Tarnawa

Sun 15th Sep 2019, 14:42

Tarnawa, second left, goes for homeTarnawa, second left, goes for home
© Photo Healy Racing

Dermot Weld landed the Group 2 Blandford Stakes for the fourth year in a row as Tarnawa stuck to her task well.

As the field raced past the halfway point of this 10 furlong contest, she tracked Credenza and Lady Wannabe in third on the outer.

Tarnawa (3/1) was nudged along to lead narrowly passing the two pole and stayed on well in the final furlong as 15/8 favourite Goddess kept cutting into the advantage.

The latter finished a never nearer second, beaten by a length and a half.

Nicely-backed Credenza came in third, a further half a length away, at 8/1.

Dermot Weld said: “This has been a lucky race for us and Chris gave her a good tactical ride. The plan was to kick for home early as she gets a mile and a half.

“We’ll see how she comes out of this race and the Fillies And Mares race at Champions day would be a logical progression.

“She is a filly that I would look forward to training as a four-year-old and she is very adaptable ground wise.

“She is progressing all the time. She started winning in March for me and was on the go all year.”

Chris Hayes added: "She's a high-class filly and thankfully we came up with a plan and we were able to execute it.

"I got trapped a little bit wide early but I didn't mind on her because she stays well and I wanted to get a clean shot at them the whole way up the straight.

"I got there plenty soon and she wandered around a little bit. I think when she steps up in company again you will see a better filly again.

"She's been trained to perfection and it's a pleasure to be a part of it."

Paddy Power cut Tarnawa from 16/1 to 10/1 for the Fillies & Mares Stakes while Betfair are 11/1 from 16/1.

Additional reporting by Alan Magee

1st
3/1
Tote €4.00 €1.40
2nd
1.5L
15/8Fav
€1.10
3rd
0.5L
8/1
€2.60
About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.