Queenstown takes final race of turf season for Aidan O'Brien

On the final afternoon of the 2023 flat turf season, it was perhaps fitting that the all conquering Aidan O'Brien stable won the last race of the campaign with Queenstown just holding on to claim the Watch Racing TV Free For 31 Days Maiden.

Sent off 4-6f under Seamie Heffernan, the Galileo colt went one better having finished runner-up on each of his previous two starts.

Racing away from the main action inside the last couple of furlongs, the eventual winner drifted to the far side while his nearest rival Neptunes Staircase came stands side under Colin Keane.

In a driving finish both horses had their heads down on the line, with the resultant photo giving the Ballydoyle trained colt a nose win.

Chris Armstrong rep. Aidan O’Brien, “It’s grand to finish off our turf season on a winning note. His form was in the book and he was coming off a layoff.

“He’s a grand, honest horse and stays well. Seamus felt he got a bit tired in the ground in the closing stages and that’s why he wandered off a bit but he’s a typical Galileo and never lay down.”

Additional reporting by Alan Magee.