Donnacha records first double as Shale impresses Donnacha O’Brien hit the headlines on Sunday sending out his first classic winner as Fancy Blue landed the Prix de Diane at Chantilly, and the rookie trainer kept up the good work by recording a first double as Shale added to the earlier success of Southern Cape at Gowran Park. Shale is certainly bred to be smart being by the all-conquering Galileo and out of Guineas winner Homecoming Queen, and she was well-supported from 100/30 into 5/2 joint favourite for the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden. Gavin Ryan had her prominent throughout and she drew clear inside the final furlong to beat High Heels by three and a quarter lengths. Umneyaat was a further length and a quarter back in third. O’Brien, a former two-time champion jockey and still just 21, said “We weren’t sure about the ground. She looks like a filly that needs quick ground but her mother handled soft ground so obviously it’s showing in the pedigree and she’s done it very nicely. “There was talk for a lot of the fillies at Leopardstown and I think it was the first seven-furlong maiden so everyone probably had their best seven-furlong fillies out. It looks to be a hot race. “We’ll look at something like the Debutante or the Silver Flash is in Leopardstown in a few weeks.”
