It isn't often that a horse runs in the same maiden a year apart, but such was the case with Duc De Savoie winner of the Helena Sheahan Memorial Maiden twelve months after finishing third in the mile contest at Listowel.
Eleven to eight favourite (from 7/4 this morning) on this occasion, the Leigh Roche (18yo) ridden four-year-old looked to be in big trouble when his main market rival, Paraphernalia kicked clear a furlong and a half out. However the American-bred Dermot Weld-trained five-times previously tried gelding picked up well inside the final furlong to prevail near the finish, the margin being a neck on the line.
Roche said: "That's my fifteenth winner, ten this year in Ireland and I had one in England too. Wayne (Lordan on Paraphernalia) got first run on me, my horse fell asleep underneath me on the turn-in to the straight but I gave him a couple of back-handers and he picked up well." Virgil Earp (16s this morning into 6/1) could manage only eighth.
This was the third winner from five runners for Dermot Weld at this year's Festival.
