One Look (black) © Photo Healy Racing
Paddy Twomey’s One Look maintained her unbeaten record with a workmanlike display in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Race at Cork.
Sent off the prohibitively priced 1-20 favourite to beat four rivals, she did so with the minimum of fuss but failed to shake up the ante-post Classic markets.
Having won the Goffs Million on her racecourse debut, the daughter of Gleneagles went into the winter as a big fancy for the 1000 Guineas.
Twomey carefully selected her reappearance run and her starting price suggested the calibre of opposition she was up against, although in the heavy ground, Billy Lee had to shake her up.
While she ultimately won by three lengths, Coral left her unchanged at 9-1 for the Newmarket Classic.
“She did exactly what we were hoping she would do. We got her out, got her some exercise and education and it has gone to plan, so I’m very happy,” said Twomey.
“We had the plan in our head that we were coming (regardless of the heavy ground), she settled and quickened and it was pretty straightforward. I don’t think I’ve trained many 1-20 shots!
“That was her first piece of work for the year, so we’ll sit down and make a plan. We have a couple of more fillies to run, so we will see where we go but she is in the Irish, English, French and German Guineas.
“If she runs in Newmarket (English 1000 Guineas), she would go straight there, but if she runs in Ireland, she might run again.
“She is a lovely-actioned filly, was ready to run today and I think she’ll progress plenty.”
There was a mild surprise in the opening Welcome To The Racing Home For Easter Festival 2024 Fillies’ Maiden, which went the way of Johnny Murtagh’s debutante Wide With Delight (20-1).
Winning jockey Shane B Kelly said: “She is a lovely filly with a really good attitude. Her work has been good at home but we thought she might need the run. I’d say she isn’t too bad.
“We hacked early in the race and I took back to be behind Colin (Keane, on favourite National Lady , as he would bring me where I needed to be if mine was good enough – and it worked out well.
“She pricked her ears out of greenness and had a good look around but she was still going forward. She was a lovely ride, has a great attitude and is really likeable.”
Andy Slattery ’s Easy lived up to her name when barely coming off the bridle in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cork Stakes at 25-1, sparking Royal Ascot dreams for the trainer.
“If I have a Group One horse, this is it. I knew she’d improve from today but we can’t get her off the bridle and she was only half-speeding. I’d say she will improve a lot and hopefully we are heading for Royal Ascot,” said Slattery.
“I never had a horse like her to pull away from horses so easily and that’s how she initially got her name – everything was easy for her.
“I’m going to keep her to five or six furlongs, as she has so much pace and talent. Both Group One sprint races at Royal Ascot would be the plan, along with the Flying Five Stakes at the Curragh.”
He added: “She is back from injury, so hopefully we can keep her sound. I got her back last July but we had a bit of patching up to do with her. She had knee problems, so had to go for an operation. She is in training a long time before today but had no hard gallops done with her.
“She will go on any ground and she is exciting.”
Slattery and his jockey son of the same name had already won the Book Tickets Online At CorkRacecourse.ie Handicap with Independent Expert (17-2).
