Elsa's Pride and Andy Slattery near win the Mallow Handicap form Oakley far Healy Racing Photo © Photo Healy Racing
Elsa's Pride stayed on strongly close home under Andrew Slattery to get the better of a well backed favourite in the Mallow Handicap at Cork.
The Tony Mullins trained Oakley had been very strong in the market on his Irish debut, eventually sent off 5-2f having been as big as 7-1 overnight.
However, Mullins had warned punters pre-race that while he believed his German import was potentially well handicapped, he felt that he needed a longer trip to be seen at his best.
With that in mind, Seamie Heffernan set out to make it a real stamina test on the five-year-old, getting straight to the front in an attempt to take the speed out of his rivals.
For much of the race he looked to have the majority of these in trouble but Andrew Slattery was always travelling well just off the pace in third aboard Elsa's Pride. Moving closer to go in chase of the favourite over a furlong out, Slattery got to the girth of Oakley well inside the final furlong before leading inside the last 50 yards.
The Fozzy Stack trained grey was sent off a 25/1 outsider on just her second handicap start, having been slowly away when well beaten on her initial foray into this company at Killarney earlier this month.
Winning jockey Andrew Slattery said: "it was the first time she got that ground and she was up to 1m4f. We went a good gallop, she kept galloping and stayed really well.
"Hopefully there is another day in her if the handicapper isn't too hard on her. She is a mare to look forward to."
Winning owner Sir Francis Brooke, the King's representative at Royal Ascot and whom chairs Ascot's Racecourse Company, added "We bought the mare in-foal to Roaring Lion, she was an early foal but had a few problems and wasn't able to run as a two year old. Dick Brabazon had her (in pre-training) and got her straight before she was sent to Fozzy.
"We previously had Pita Pinta with Fozzy, who won three times, and the colours were my late grandmother Mabel Arnott's, who was a Cork lady. The colours were registered before the first world war."
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes.
