Up And Under has to work hard to finally get his head in front

Up And Under had to work much harder than the formbook suggested when only just doing enough to narrowly prevail in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Leopardstown.

For a colt that had been placed in two established trials, before finishing fifth in the Irish Derby at the Curragh, the Joseph O'Brien trained son of Lope De Vega made very hard work of shedding his maiden tag.

Upstaged at the Galway festival last month when sent off a long odds-on favourite, Up And Under was fully expected to get the job done here under Mikey Sheehy.

However, the O'Brien trained colt was hard at work over two furlongs out, struggling to get by The First And Last before eventually mastering that rival. Cormac T then came through to press ahead and lead on the inside rail inside the final furlong.

Looking beat at that stage, the eventual winner found extra when This Songisforyou came with a strong run down the outside under Ronan Whelan.

In a three-way head photo, Up And Under had his head in front where it mattered most to gain a first career win.

Mikey Sheehy said: “His form has been rock solid. He was coming right back down in trip to a mile-and-one today and it probably wasn't ideal.

“He did what he had to do, that was get his head in front. I'd definitely be going back up in trip with him but he's got his head in front now and broken his maiden. I'm delighted to get that.

“He's still a big baby and he's not the easiest ride. He's learning on the job.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson.