Glor Na Mara landed his first win at the 16th time of asking when coming home clear in the one mile maiden at Dundalk.
The three-year-old trained by Jim Bolger and ridden by Kevin Manning was once rated 113 primarily due to a host of placings in Group races as a juvenile. His mark had slipped to 88 tonight after a thus far uninspiring campaign.
Manning’s colt travelled strongly and when asked for his effort a furlong out he sprinted away to win comprehensively by three-and-three-parts-of-a-length at odds of 11/4 from market leader Azores (9/4 to 11/8 in the morning and 11/10 to 10/11 on course). His ability shone under the floodlights tonight.
Unraced 66/1 shot Alheera ran a notable race to finish third for trainer Sarah Dawson and jockey Fergal Lynch two-and-a-quarter-lengths back.
Kevin Manning said: “I was very impressed with him tonight. He travelled so well and put the race to bed in a few strides.
“He showed what he has been showing at home and maybe the step up in trip to a mile was a help.” Gaiety Theatre on debut for James Ryan attracted support from 50/1 to 33/1. She finished fifth after making headway in the final furlong. She was found to be lame post race.
Michael Graham
