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Mark Nunan

Mark Nunan

Whelan leaves no stone unturned to get Chemdawg home

Mon 13th May 2024, 20:49

Chemdawg (orange and blue) beats Stariam (left)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

About Mark Nunan
Mark has followed racing since he was a teenager and worked for many years as a broadcaster with the Irish version of Racecall. He joined the Press Association in 2019 and is also a contributor to the Racing Post. A native of Kildare, he now lives in Sligo.