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Murtagh double moves trainer to best total

Maristella and Ben Coen (green colours)Maristella and Ben Coen (green colours)
© Photo Healy Racing

Trainer Johnny Murtagh moved to his best yearly total with a Navan double today as Maristrella (9/4jf) narrowly landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Fillies) Handicap, also providing stable jockey Ben Coen with a double.

The daughter of New Bay gained a last-gasp short-head win, pegging back Prioritise (33/1) at the line, to follow up the pair's earlier nursery success with easy winner Mile End

Murtagh later reported “that's our best ever year - 42 winners. The last couple of weeks we were getting close, so I was hoping that we would do it.”

He added “this filly had a few little niggles through the year. She did well in Galway and got a big penalty (11lbs) and I was going to claim off her, but it is all about black-type with Ballylinch (Stud, owners) and if she was going to be a black-type filly, she had to come and do it today off 84.

"She has just won but probably deserves a shot at black-type. There's not much left although there are fillies' races in Naas and Leopardstown. She likes soft ground and probably wants a mile and a quarter. I'm delighted to win two races with her this year.

"Ben is great and is a great lad."

Quotes from Michael Graham

1st
9/4JFav
Tote €3.25 €1.40
2nd
shd
33/1
€7.20
3rd
0.5L
9/2
€1.30
4th
2.5L
9/4JFav
About Tom Weekes
A lifelong racing fan, Tom began writing point to point reports in 2002 and has reported for irishracing.com since 2003, when he joined Irish Racing Services - since taken over by the Press Association. Has ridden a point to point winner and won the 2018 Irish Field Naps Table.