Chemdawg (orange and blue) beats Stariam (left)© Photo Healy Racing
The concluding Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Fillies) Maiden produced a good tussle between front-running Stariam and Chemdawg (5/1).
The latter, trained by Oliver McKiernan, tracked the leaders but Ronan Whelan was hard at work on the daughter of Australia even before straightening up for home.
To her credit, the five-year-old kept responding and wore down the leader close home to score by a head.
There was sting in the tail for the winning rider who was handed a four-day whip ban.
McKiernan's assistant Tiago Vidal said:- “I'm delighted with the filly, Oliver has had plenty of patience with her and it paid off today.
“Ronan gave her a brilliant ride. We'll see what the handicapper does now and see what the boss thinks is the next step going forward.
“She's getting the hang of things very well over hurdles as well so hopefully she's one to look forward to in the summer.”
Quotes from Gary Carson
