Ever Present and Shane Foley win from Ciel D'afrique and Lafayette © Photo Healy Racing
Joint topweight Ever Present (15/2) came from well off the pace to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Petingo' Handicap and complete a 3,314/1 treble for Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley.
The 5-year-old still had most of his rivals in front of him with three furlongs to race but he picked up well when Foley asked for more in the straight and stormed home to collar Ciel D’afrique in the final fifty yards.
The runner-up had gone for his race over a furlong out in what looked a decisive move but got a little unbalanced under pressure and was inclined to lug into the rail. In the end he went down by half a length, with the other joint topweight Lafayette and Crowns Major completing the placings.
The winner had landed a Punchestown bumper on debut last year and, like stablemate Real Appeal earlier, this was his third win at Leopardstown this year.
Winning trainer Jessica Harrington, whose first success of the afternoon had come with No Speak Alexander in the Matron Stakes, said: “It's fantastic and I'm thrilled for that horse because having won two amateur races here I thought they put him in at a fairly high mark of 95.
"Then I go to the Curragh and get beaten and they put him up another 5lb.
“I think he could be a proper Ebor horse next year, that's the plan. He just likes nice ground.
“He absolutely loves it around here and Leopardstown does just suit some horses.”
Quotes from Gary Carson
