Cleary at his strongest as River sheds maiden tag Apprentice Jack Cleary made virtually all the running on Mississippi River to run out a gallant winner of the Vintage Crop Raceday April 26th (C & G) Maiden at Navan. An 85-rated colt with four previous starts, the 5/4f was sent straight into the lead in order to make his experience count against a field of less exposed rivals. Strongly pressed by both Diego El Queso and Omni Man over two-furlongs out, the son of Lope De Vega found plenty for pressure to see off those rivals with over 200 yards to race. However, the Johnny Murtagh trained debutant Zahrann emerged from out of the chasing pack to throw down a strong late challenge. At the line, the Aidan O'Brien trained Mississippi River had a head to spare. Ballydoyle Stable representative Chris Armstrong said: "Jack gave him a lovely ride from a tricky draw. "It is the first time we have had him on quick ground since his debut in Naas and it is probably what he has been crying out for - good ground and up in trip to a mile. "Jack thinks he toughed it out well at the end. In fairness now, when the others came to him and challenged, he was strong at the finish. It is a nice winner for Jack. "He has still got to put it together, but he could have the makings of a nice horse mid-season. "He will probably go for something like the Blackwater (Handicap) at Naas and just let him come through the ranks. "He has run in good maidens, and the ground obviously wasn't to his liking and he still ran creditably. He definitely appreciated the step up in trip on today's ground." Additional reporting by Michael Graham.
