High Street steps up as odds-on debutant fails

There was to be only one winner of the Jack Murphy Jewellers Maiden if the market was to be believed as Moyglare Stud Farm's Chateau La Fleur went off at odds of 1/4 for her debut. She could manage only third place as High Street Lady (8/1) stepped up on a promising first outing. Drapers Guild shaped well from the front but the Tony Martin-trained and Ronan Whelan-ridden chestnut got there inside the last to prevail by two lengths.

Dermot Weld and Leigh Roche's aforementioned 'hot-pot' meanwhile, didn't find anything extra in the final quarter mile and ended up five lengths back.

"She ran a lovely race here the last night and it's a great bunch of lads involved in her, including a couple of friends from my home-town," said Martin.

"She ran a nice promising race the other night and obviously came on a lot from it. It was lovely.

"She met a very good one the first day but ran a real nice race, improved off it and you couldn't ask her to do any more than she did tonight.

"It's only a Dundalk maiden. She's not over-big and she's not anything special but we'll get her home, see what she's like in a few weeks and go from there. Tonight was the important one."

(GC & EM)