Racing:St Nicholas Abbey was a well-beaten third on his return to action at the Curragh. Touted as a wonder horse after his brilliant success in the 2009 Racing Post Trophy, Aidan O'Brien's colt had not been seen since losing his unbeaten record in last year's 2000 Guineas.
Sent off the 4-11 favourite to make a winning comeback in the 10-furlong Geegeez.co.uk Alleged Stakes, the writing was on the wall some way out.
Seamie Heffernan’s mount did not pick up in the final quarter-mile as Dermot Weld’s Triumph Hurdle runner-up Unaccompanied (4-1) ran out a two-and-a-half-length winner from the 87-rated Celium. St Nicholas Abbey was another four lengths back in third.
However, O’Brien was far from despondent with St Nicholas Abbey’s performance in the gruelling conditions.
“They didn’t go very fast and he was just a little bit fresh. They quickened up at halfway and he got a little bit tired. The ground was very heavy,” he said.
“It was his first time back and it was just to get him started again. It was a good while since he ran and he got a little bit tired in Seamie’s hands.
“It’s very early in the season and it’s very hard to have a horse peak fit on that kind of ground if you are thinking about going on for the rest of the season. We’ve got him started now and hopefully we‘ll look forward to his next run.”
Weld was thrilled with Unaccompanied, saying: “She’s a lovely, big genuine mare. She’ll go to Punchestown next providing the ground is not firm. She ran a super race at Cheltenham and it’s great to win a stakes race with her.
“She’ll get the summer off after Punchestown and then come back as a dual-purpose mare. We’ll be looking at races over 10 furlongs and a mile and a half on the Flat. She’s got a very big future over jumps.”
O’Brien’s Sing Softly had earlier booked a Classic tilt with a taking success in the Anne Brewster Memorial Loughbrown Stakes.
Colm O’Donoghue had the Hennessy filly in second place just behind the leader Tell the Wind in the early stages.
Hitting the front a furlong and a half out, she was not hard pressed to hold Defining Year by a length.
“She shows plenty of speed. I ran her today as I thought if she gets seven in that ground she’s likely to get a mile,” said O’Brien.
“We’ll look at the English or French Guineas for her. She wants good ground.”
Lolly For Dolly (9-2) just collared The Cheka in a tight finish to the Big Bad Bob Gladness Stakes to collect her second Group Three win over seven furlongs at this course this spring.
The Cheka was always prominent in the hands of Johnny Murtagh and Eve Johnson Houghton’s raider looked the likely winner when he took a narrow lead over a furlong out.
However, Wayne Lordan made his challenge late on the Tommy Stack-trained filly and she got up in the last few strides to snatch victory by a short head.