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Punchestown 2024
Punchestown 2024
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- Newfoundland powers home under Moore
Donal Murphy
Newfoundland powers home under Moore
Newfoundland is pushed out by Ryan Moore
© Photo Healy Racing
Newfoundland stayed on strongly to win the Navan Racecourse Maiden, completing a double for Ryan Moore and Aidan O'Brien.
A runner-up on his last two visits to Proudstown Park, the Deep Impact colt was sent off the 11/8 favourite.
Settled behind the leaders, he struggled to find room in the straight but was eventually switched to the outside and dropped to fifth with over a furlong to race.
However, he picked up well down the outer inside the final furlong and got to the front with less than 100 yards to race, going on to score by a length-and-a-half.
Market rival Como Park (6/5 to a starting price 6/4) finished second under Declan McDonogh for Joseph O'Brien, while the Willie Mullins trained Raving Royal (18/1) was a big eye-catcher on debut, another half-a-length back in third.
Stable representative Chris Armstrong said: "He's had a couple of decent runs in decent enough maidens. The win was the most important thing.
"We will take him home and see how he is and then we'll look at a handicap after this and go from there.
"He did (ran short of room) and they went steady enough early on, and it turned into a bit of a sprint home but he got out of it.
"It was probably an okay maiden and we'll go the handicap route with him."
O'Brien and Moore had earlier won the opening contest with Statuette
Additional reporting by Michael Graham