Elysium swoops to annex Group 3 for Meade

Elysium swamped her rivals to spring a 12/1 surprise in the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes over seven furlongs in the Curragh.

Billy Lee 's mount was fully third-last of the 10 runners a furlong and a half out but once switched out she rocketed into contention on the outer.

She got onto the heels of the tightly bunched field flashing past the furlong pole and stormed home to pick up Aunty Bridy in the final 100 yards.

The Belardo filly won going away by a length and a half from Aunty Bridy (9/2). Thinking Of You took third at 10/3. No Speak Alexander the 3/1 favourite, was a nose out of the places in fourth.

Noel Meade said: “Some people might be surprised by that but I’m not. She’s been showing me that all the time at home and I thought we’d nothing to lose by running here as if she got into the shake up she’d be worth a few quid.

“Billy said he got a bump coming out of the gate and it lit her up a bit. He was able to stick her in and get her relaxed again, and he couldn’t believe how she picked up.

“I own a piece of her myself along with two friends. We bought four two-year-olds with the idea of selling them, so I would be surprised if the money comes that we don’t sell.

“It’s a while since we had a Group-race winner on the Flat, but we didn’t have too many runners.”

Meade's Show Me The Money won the Cornwallis Stakes at Ascot in 1998, and Street Rebel won the Greenlands at the Curragh in 1992.

Elysium got off the mark in an auction fillies' maiden at Navan in June before finishing placed in auction races at Leopardstown and Roscommon.

Additional reporting by Alan Magee