Sunchart comes home a clear-cut winner under Andy Slattery© Photo Healy Racing
Sunchart got a deserved Listed race win to his name, as he easily accounted for his six rivals in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Devoy Stakes.
Trained by Andy Slattery and ridden by his son and namesake, the seven-year-old registered his only previous success in a maiden way back in October of 2019.
Placed numerous times in stakes company and second in the Trigo on his penultimate start at Leopardstown, the 104-rated bay was sent off a 5/1 chance this afternoon (from 8s).
Settled behind the leaders in third, the Pat Garvey-owned bay travelled strongly from early in the straight and swept through to lead with over two-furlongs to go.
Soon pressed by Knight To King he readily stretched clear of that rival when ridden and came home six-and-a-half lengths to the good.
Returned the 9/4 favourite, Knight To King had to settle for second, while the easy-to-back Queenstown (9s from 7/2) was another length-and-a-quarter back in third.
"The horse deserved it more than any of us. Pat (Garvey) has had great perseverance with him and it's great that he's kept going," the winning trainer commented.
"He was always a very good horse and he likes this track. He likes going left-handed and likes soft ground.
"He's been a hard horse to place and we maybe aimed a bit high at times as well.
"He always had the ability, he was second in this last year and was barely beaten at Leopardstown in a Listed race.
"People were doubting him for being doggy but he's not, he's just a horse that has had a lot of problems.
"It was just about getting him right on the day and today he was right.
"I don't think there is much coming up for him, the ground is the big thing. He might go back to Chester if the ground was soft, he ran well when fourth in the Ormonde Stakes last year.
"He was the form horse in the race."
STEWARDS REPORT
The Irish Horseracing Regulatory Board Veterinary Officer examined La Filomena trained by Joseph Patrick O'Brien, at the request of the Raceday Stewards and reported the animal to be post race normal.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
