Carlo Biraghi comes home clear of Arthurian Fame© Photo Healy Racing
Carlo Biraghi put in a smart performance on debut to win the last at the Curragh this afternoon, the Plusvital Racing Syrup Maiden.
The Fozzy Stack trained son of Galileo was bought for E52,000 at Goffs last October, and was sent off at 7/1 today (20s in early shows and from 8s on-course), with Chris Hayes in the saddle.
Settled behind the leaders on the outer, he improved to lead from the three furlong pole. He was challenged by the 6/4 favourite Arthurian Fame with two furlongs left to race, however he responded well to pressure, keeping on strongly inside the final furlong to score by three and a quarter lengths.
The aforementioned market leader, who was backed from 2/1 on-course, finished second under Donnacha O'Brien for his brother Joseph.
The front two went four and three parts of a length clear of Giuseppe Garibaldi in third. This 99 rated gelding was returned at 5/1 under Wayne Lordan for Aidan O'Brien.
"He did it well and he stays well," said Stack.
"He'll probably go for something like the Gallinule or the Nijinsky Stakes. We'll see where we're going after that then.
"Chris said the hardest job was pulling him up before the boards. He's a nice horse.
"He matured a lot over the winter. He was a big raw horse last year and we were in two minds whether we'd run him or not. We gave him the time and it worked out.
"Chris said he wasn't in love with that ground. The dream is alive."
The winner is a half-brother to Harba who won three times in the UK last year for William Haggas.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
