Naval Force in the clear© Photo Healy Racing
Donnacha O'Brien and Gavin Ryan doubled up on the card at Navan when Naval Force made all in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race over the extended 10-furlongs. The Equator the even-money favourite, tried to go after them on the run to the final furlong, but was outgunned by the winner who kept on strongly at 9/2 from 7/1.
Ryan said: "We liked him after the Roscommon win and we sent him to Ascot. Sometimes those handicaps in Ascot, you can actually end up ruining your horse so we rode him for a bit of luck.
"It didn't work out on the day (13th in King George V Stakes), but we knew we lost nothing in defeat. You can see that today, he came back here in flying form. The race (in Royal Ascot) took nothing out of him.
"It was great to go to Ascot with him but, at the end of the day, if things fall right it is great but it is so competitive over there. We rode for luck and got a messy passage the whole way through and no real rub of the green.
"He's a decent horse and ground-wise very versatile. Trip-wise a mile and a-half or a mile and a-quarter makes no difference. A smart horse."
O'Brien and Ryan also teamed up with Shimmy Jimmy in race one.
