McAteer strong in finish aboard Teorie Luke McAteer had to be at his strongest when guiding Teorie to success in the colours of Jackie Bolger in the Clayton Hotel Leopardstown Maiden. Trained by the owners husband, Jim, the homebred Teofilio colt was getting off the mark at the fourth time of asking, following a couple of promising earlier runs. Ordinarily stall 17 may have presented a problem but given the colts previous experience, McAteer was able to get away quickly and soon tacked over to lead. Kicking clear of the field turning for home, the winning jockey was seen at his strongest as he held off all challenges from over 2f out. Race favourite Saturn briefly flattered to deceive when giving chase in second over a furlong out but the Jessica Harrington colt soon weakened and it was left to Tommy Thug to deliver the final challenge. However, McAteer and Teorie were always holding that Andy Oliver trained rival, staying on to win by three-quarters-of-a-length. “He stayed at it very well. He had a little bit of form and built on it, hopefully he can progress from there,” said Bolger. “He'll probably go handicapping now. He'll make a nice three-year-old hurdler for someone and is obviously able to handle that ground which is a plus for that game.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson.
