Andrew Slattery rides 382/1 Curragh double

Half-an-hour on from running down Ronan Whelan on Dalton Highway young Andrew Slattery was at it again to complete a 382/1 Curragh on Telepathy in the Irish Stallion Farms European Breeders Fund Maiden.

Slattery will sit his Leaving Cert soon and he was adding to the gains achieved for Dermot Weld on Friday night at the venue on Jassaar.

In the finale Ronan Whelan went for home two furlongs out but his mount Hazran couldn’t fend off Telepathy in the closing stages.

A length and a quarter separated them at the line and it was the same margin to the staying on South Sea Pearl in third.

Local trainer Tommy Shaw has care of Telepathy for the Dolmen Racing Club and the 50/1 daughter of Bated Breath was having her second start for connections after coming from France at a price tag of 3,000 Euros.

“It’s my first winner on the Flat and obviously my first winner on the Curragh. When I think of my father winning the 1,000 Guineas here back in 1960 with Zenobia, it’s just a dream come true," reflected Shaw.

“The family are heavily involved in racing with my brothers Sandy, the National Hunt handicapper, and Richard in HRI. I’m retired and I just took up the bit of training to keep me busy as a hobby.

“I was settling for second with half a furlong to go and I don’t know where she found it. Just to have a runner at the Curragh is great and I never expected this.

“I was pushing the owners to give her a summer break as I just couldn’t get any weight on her. I ride her out and I must say she did feel good all week. The good ground was a huge factor as she struggled in Gowran. I couldn’t get over how well she travelled today.

“I train out of a yard on the Curragh belonging to Maurice Behan, a retired farrier who worked on the Curragh for the last 40 years. He knew my parents very well and gave me a few stables for a point-to-pointer. I’ve three in training and that’s the most I’ve ever had.

“The lads came along with a Flat horse and I had to renew the Flat licence just for them this summer.”

The Stewards requested a report from T.F. Shaw, trainer as to the apparent improvement in form of Telepathy (FR), placed first, as compared with its recent form. The trainer reported that his charge is a difficult type to train and felt a combination of today's faster ground and a liking for the track may have brought about the apparent improvement in form. Having considered the report, the Stewards noted the explanation offered.

(AM & EM)