Zihba (Chris Hayes) beating Pincheck in the Amethyst Stakes© Photo Healy Racing
Zihba booked his ticket for the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas after maintaining his unbeaten record in the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes at Leopardstown.
The Fozzy Stack-trained son of Choisir, who was as big as 4/1 earlier in the day, was well-supported and went off the 5/2 favourite against six rivals. Pincheck took the field along in this mile event, and was challenged in the straight by the favourite.
Chris Hayes’ mount struck the front a furlong out, and responded well to a few cracks of the whip staying on strongly to score by a length and a half.
Pincheck kept on one paced to take the runner-up spot, with True Valour another half a length back in third.
Stack said, “He did it well. It’s not easy to beat those older horses at times but he was getting the weight. We’ll line him up for the Irish Guineas and whether he’s good enough or not we’ll see.
“He wants fast ground. We were thinking of going for the Craven and Tetrarch but we waited and this is where we ended up coming in the end. He works well and has always pleased us.”
Paddy Power and Betfair Sportsbook both cut the winner into 8/1 (from 16/1) for the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas.
