Washington looks smart in opener Washington DC cruised to victory in the opening two-year-old maiden at Tipperary tonight, justifying strong support for the Zoffany colt. 20/1 shot Nice And Dandy took the field over to the far side in the five furlong contest as he cut out the running. He was tracked throughout by the Ballydoyle hotpot and Joseph O'Brien was looking around confidently from two furlongs out on his mount. The 4/9 shot (5/4 this morning) eased clear inside the final furlong to win by two-and-three quarter lengths without coming off the bridle. The winner had been held by a neck, by Blood Moon, on his debut at Dundalk when he had Nice And Dandy two-and-a-half lengths behind in third. It was a first winner for first crop sire Zoffany, who had been a top-class two-year-old himself, winning the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes. "He's a fast horse and travelled very strong. Dundalk is a great place to teach them and the Marble Hill Stakes now looks the right thing for him - I imagine he'll be a Norfolk Stakes horse," said Aidan O'Brien afterwards. "I had another Zoffany horse run at the Curragh and was very green but they have speed." (Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes)
