Sablonne and Shane Foley (right) beat Karkiyna © Photo Healy Racing
With the favourite Pirate Jenny a last moment withdrawal having gone down in the stalls, Sablonne (9/4) took advantage of the opportunity thereby presented in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.
Kirsten Rausing’s homebred half-sister to five winners tracked the leaders under Shane Foley before hitting the front inside the final quarter mile. Karkiyna like the winner equipped with cheekpieces for the first time, soon gave chase but Sablonne was always holding her and scored by a length.
The daughter of Dark Angel had gone down by just a short head in a Navan maiden last time having previously acquitted herself well in Group company at Leopardstown.
There was a rule 4 deduction of 50 cents in the Euro to all winning bets after Pirate Jenny, who was 1/1 favourite at the time, came out of the race.
Winning trainer Jessica Harrington said: “Shane said that once she gets to the front she thinks she has enough done. She’s laidback more than anything else and the cheekpieces helped her.
“She loved the ground and I think she will be a nice sprinter for next year. We might see if there is a Listed race we can run her in this year if the ground is good.
“She has strengthened up from when she first started.”
Quotes from Alan Magee
