This Songisforyou and Colin Keane win the Slievenamon Maiden at Clonmel. © Photo Healy Racing
This Songisforyou made the most of a golden opportunity to register a first win on the flat when making all under Colin Keane to easily take the Slievenamon Maiden at Clonmel.
Adopting similar tactics to those employed by Chris Hayes in the opening contest, Keane sent the Emmet Mullins trained gelding straight into the lead from the off.
Travelling easily throughout, the five-year-old was tracked by Indulging in the early part of the race, before that one began to weaken turning into the straight.
Second favourite Expound briefly looked a threat when moving up to deliver a challenge but Keane had plenty left in the tank, stretching clear to win decisively.
It was a second career success for This Songisforyou following a bumper win at Galway on his racecourse debut last year.
Emmet Mullins: "With his good Leopardstown form, he was always going to take beating coming down the country but it was great to just get his head in front. We’ve always thought a lot of him and hopefully he can go forward now and be competitive in handicaps.
“He has an awful lot of pace and I wouldn’t be worried about dropping him back to a mile. He has a high cruising speed and a good turn of foot.
"The ground probably went against him in the two-mile maiden hurdle (at Galway). I’m sure he will pick up his hurdle races but I’d say two miles is his maximum over hurdles and I doubt he’d get it on the Flat.
"He’s American-bred and Colin said he floats across that ground. We’ll stick to the Flat for now but if the ground was good enough, I’m sure he might take a hurdle run in Galway next year.”
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes.
