Chris Hayes © Photo Healy Racing
Elysium (9/1), in the famous white and green colours of American owner George Strawbridge, landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Garnet Stakes to complete a sparkling 336/1 treble for rider Chris Hayes.
The latter, successful in the previous two races on Pearle D’or and Lady Of Inishfree produced last year's Curragh Group 3 winner to challenge between horses racing to the final furlong and she ran on well to beat Emphatic Answer (11/1) by half a length.
The 11/4 favourite Oodnadatta finished a further two and a quarter lengths back in third place.
The daughter of Belardo was also completing a big-race double for winning trainer Noel Meade (trains Lady Of Inishfree) and he remarked: “George bought her after she won the Group 3 (Weld Park Stakes) last year and he kindly left her with me.
“We didn’t have a great run with her. I was hoping she’d run in the Irish Guineas but we never got a chance to train her for it.
“She got a lung infection in the spring and we couldn’t get her right. We had all sorts of problems and it’s only in the last six weeks she started to come right.
“She was a bit unlucky in Cork where she got into all sorts of trouble. I knew that every day she was getting a bit better.
“There is a race at Leopardstown next Saturday that she might go for and if not this will probably be her last run for me as she might be going to the States.
Quotes from Alan Magee
