Whelan bags across-the-card double on Tarazani

Harzand's one-time pace-maker Tarazani caused a 16/1 upset to win the Manguard Plus Handicap at Leopardstown today, as the now Henry De Bromhead trained, Herby Stanley owned gelding completed a double on the day for jockey Ronan Whelan.

Whelan had earlier registered a winner at Dundalk's day meeting with the Ado McGuinness trained Beau Satchel and scored a length and three parts success on Tarazani.

Ex-Aga Khan owned Tarazani was with trainer Dermot Weld when making the running for subsequent Epsom Derby winner Harzand's maiden win at Cork in 2016 and was today notching a second career success.

Afterwards Whelan stated “thanks to Rory Cleary and his owner he had a spare seat (in a helicopter from Dundalk races) and he let me jump on. It was a big help and I actually got a spare as well out of it.

"I gave this horse an awful ride in Dundalk (last year) to put it mildly - I thought if the same horse that night turned up again today I thought he'd definitely outrun his odds. He'd run well in this race before (second to Jan Van Eyck last year) and I think Henry has Galway in mind after this."

Quotes from Alan Magee