Nanamour shows her battling qualities

Those that took part on the gamble on Creative Talent in the opening mile and a half maiden at Tramore suffered an agonising fate as the favourite was pipped on the line by Nanamour

Creative Talent was backed during the day from 2/1 to 5/4 before being returned 11/8. As the money came for Andrew Heffernan's three-year-old gelding, Nanamour proved easy to back in drifting out from a morning price of 7/2 to an SP of 9/2.

Leigh Roche settled Nanamour in second behind Liam Eile before the pair improved to lead with five furlongs left to travel.

Creative Talent and Colin Keane raced in sixth but made an eye-catching move at the four pole to move closer into contention.

Keane sat motionless as Creative Talent loomed up on the outside of Nanamour inside the final quarter of a mile. Creative Talent was then ridden to lead at the furlong pole and grabbed a narrow advantage.

However, four-year-old filly Nanamour proved a stubborn opponent and fought back well on the inside. In the final 50 yards Nanamour kept on best and was a short head up on the line. Ange D'Or Javilex (8/1) stayed on well for third without troubling the front two. He was three parts of a length away.

Winning trainer Willie McCreery said: "I'm delighted for Gerry (Callanan) who bred her. A half-sister of hers runs later (Carried). We have been persistent with her. She hit her head in the stalls one day when we put a tongue tie on her and she wasn't reacting out of them after that. I just thought of here then without the stalls.

"Leigh gave her a lovely positive ride and she got into a nice rhythm and in fairness to her she fought back so I'm delighted with that. It's important to win a maiden before she goes back handicapping. She showed a lot of promise early on but I was disappointed with her the last while. I just think she was saving a bit but Leigh got it out of her today. She has all the look of a hurdler."

Gerry Callanan, the winning owner/breeder, is from Nanallac Stud in Monasterevin, Co Kildare. He said: We have a two-year-old Big Bad Bob filly out of the mare with Willie but she won't run until next year. We also have a yearling by Lord Shanakill and a Casamento foal.

"Her mother (Tequise) was a great filly for us. She was just beaten for us in the Ulster Oaks, she ran out at the corner and was only beaten by three parts of a length, Declan Gillespie trained her."

Additional reporting by Donal Murphy