< Nephrite trained by Aidan O'Brien and ridden by his son, Joseph, took the JRA Killavullan Stakes at Leopardstown in the style of a very smart two-year-old.
Much of the pre-race hype surrounded odds-on favourite Born To Sea a half-brother to Sea The Stars, but Nephrite tracked the jolly closely a good six lengths adrift of Ishvana and the pace-setter Vault
As the prominent racers weakened, the big two came through to dominate the finish, with Nephrite sweeping into the lead entering the final furlong and staying on strongly to win by a length and a half.< Thomasgainsborough (11-2) looks another very exciting O'Brien-trained prospect after breaking his duck in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.
Although easy in the market and still showing signs of greenness through the race, he made up lots of ground in the closing stages under Seamie Heffernan to beat stablemate I Have A Dream by a short head.
Pat Smullen bridged the gap with Johnny Murtagh to just two winners in the race for the jockeys' title with a treble on the card.< Coolnagree (8-1) burst through the middle of the pack under Smullen to record a third straight victory for trainer William McCreery in the www.leopardstown.com Nursery.
The second leg came on Dermot Weld's Zaminast who lived up to 7-4 favouritism in the Listed Trigo Stakes, while the hat-trick was complete when Midnight Music again trained by Weld, took the Follow Leopardstown On Facebook Handicap at 8-1.< Eternal Bounty (6-1) put her Fairyhouse debut experience to good use when winning the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.
David Wachman's daughter of Galileo was beaten only half a length into fourth at the first time of asking and she made no mistake this time under Wayne Lordan.
Lee Roche landed the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap Final on the Richard Fahey-trained raider Take It To The Max (9-2 favourite).
