Dalton Highway and Andrew Slattery win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Handicap © Photo Healy Racing
Dalton Highway has been a smashing dual-purpose handicapper for Dermot Weld and took the last race of Derby weekend, the two-mile handicap, at 14/1.
Andrew Slattery, who won on the same horse at last year’s Irish Guineas meeting, gave him a lovely patient steer mid-division down the inside.
The gaps opened in the home straight and the Zoffany gelding responded generously to his jockey’s urgings to collar De Name Escapes Me inside the final furlong.
It was a fourth win on the Flat for the winning 7-y-o, who also picked up a handicap hurdle at the Leopardstown Christmas Festival of 2019 when partnered by Jack Kennedy. Sharjah in fourth, fared best of Willie Mullins’ quartet in this race, with his 5/2 favourite Jon Snow finishing back in tenth place.
Trainer's son and assistant Kris Weld said commented: “He’s a great old servant and he likes it here.
He’s run some very good races in those big handicaps last year and he’ll follow a similar route again. You’d love to think he’ll get his turn in one of them.
“Obviously we’ll have a think about Galway but there are plenty of other races throughout the year as well like the Cesarewitch and the November Handicap.
“He loves that little ease in the ground. He doesn’t like extremes.”
Additional reporting by Alan Magee
