Tarawa asserts under Chris Hayes© Photo Healy Racing
Tarawa dropped back in trip to get off the mark on second start in the seven furlong maiden for juvenile fillies in Leopardstown.
The well supported 5/2 chance raced in touch in sixth and took closer order straightening for home.
Chris Hayes asked her for more in fifth a furlong and a half down and she surged into contention at the furlong pole almost upsides Lambada and Bold As Love
She raced to the front in the final 150 yards and asserted in smart fashion to draw two and a quarter lengths clear of Bold As Love (16/1). Lambada dropped a further length back to third at 12/1.
Dermot Weld said: “She was impressive and she's a lovely filly to look forward to for next year.
“The plan would be to start back in one of the classic trials here next spring.
“She's a filly with a lot of pace, Chris rode her with great confidence which was the plan — to ride her for speed.
“She'd probably never be a firm ground filly, but I had a concern that it might be too testing for her. My only concern was if the ground was a little bit heavy it would take her speed away, but she's very adaptable and she handled it well.
“She's a big strong filly and hopefully she'll progress over the winter. We'll look forward to her being a group filly next year.
“The first day in Cork the ground was deep and she got tired at the furlong pole, but she learned from it. I thought she'd be hard to beat today.”
Tarawa came home fifth on debut over a mile at Cork last month. She holds an entry in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
