Cork Racing: Wayne Lordan scores big win on home turf
Cherry Blossom and Wayne Lordan win the Goffs Irish EBF Polonia Stakes. Picture: Healy Racing.
ON a beautiful May evening, the featured race at a sundrenched Cork Racecourse was the €52,500 Listed Goffs Irish EBF Polonia Stakes.
It provided local jockey Wayne Lordan with a notable success on the aptly named Cherry Blossom which often signals the advent of summer.
It proved to be a night to remember for the in form Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley. They recorded a treble. Kinesiology completed a memorable night for them, denying Lordan on Psalm, who was seeking a double.
The overnight market in the featured Listed Polonia Stakes saw support for Cherry Blossom from 7/2 to 5/2. The No Nay Never filly had been mixing it in exalted company as a juvenile and finished fourth in the Cheveley Park Stakes last October.
She'd appeared all at sea on heavy ground on her reappearance last month at Leopardstown. Like many of her Ballydoyle stable companions, she was expected to improve significantly from that run. She was always travelling best here tonight and despite idling late on she won with plenty in hand under Innishannon jockey Lordan.
The better ground and drop in trip was clearly a huge positive from her perspective. She was quickly into her stride and set the fractions throughout. Lordan set sail for home at the distance and despite idling beat She's Quality by a length and a half.
Lordan here afterwards in the parade ring to Racing TV's Fran Berry, suggested that the much better ground and the drop to five furlongs were pivotal to this speedy filly. Given the lack of opportunities here, we might see her in action across the water again in Group Company going forward.
Racing began with the €25,000 Irish EBF Auction Series Maiden for two-year-olds. Fozzy Stack's New Theory brought the best form to the table after a promising second at Navan beaten by a length and a half by highly regarded Ballydoyle colt Camille Pissarro. He went off 5/2 favourite but could only finish fifth in what appeared to be an above-average maiden.
The Jessica Harrington Racing yard introduced a nice two-year-old filly to win on Monday at the Curragh, they landed the opener at Cork with Rock N Roll Rocket with Shane Foley aboard at 16/1. He prevailed by a short head from Andy Slattery's Powerful Nation who was quietly fancied by the yard he is one to follow.
The unlucky horse here was David Marnane's Sir Yoshi who was badly hampered behind the leaders a furlong and a half out.
To his credit, he battled on well between horses inside the final furlong and was only beaten a neck and a short head. Jessica Harrington and Shane Foley doubled up in the valuable €100k Mallow Premier Handicap with Kings Time for the Newton Anner Stud Farm at 20/1.
He was produced to lead inside the final 150 yards with Foley hardly moving a muscle. That combination later completed a treble.
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