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Weld strikes with Right Honourable

Right Honourable, near side, edges ahead in GalwayRight Honourable, near side, edges ahead in Galway
© Photo Healy Racing

Dermot Weld got his first winner on board at this year's Galway Festival in race three - the seven furlong juvenile maiden.

The perennial champion trainer at Ballybrit had won seven of the last 10 runnings of this race yet his Right Honourable was very easy to back during the day drifting from 8/15 to 11/10 before going off the 5/4 favourite.

Weld had outlined that Right Honourable had got struck into on his debut at Leopardstown less than a fortnight ago and that the horse had been held up for four or five days.

Pat Smullen had him tracking the leader, and market rival, Courage Under Fire in second on the outer.

Right Honourable was almost on terms passing the two pole. Both jockeys were soon exerting their arms but it was Right Honourable who came to pick off Courage Under Fire with 200 yards to race.

He was ridden out to win going away by a length and a quarter. Brutal who was the subject of a gamble from 6/1 to 7/2, kept on well on the inner to get up for second by a short head from Courage Under Fire.

Dermot Weld said: "He is a very nice horse. I had a concern as I said I was held up with him for a few days so even more credit to the horse. He's by Famous Name who won 21 races for us - 20 Stakes or Group races. I bred him with my late mother. His dam Agnetha was a very good mare for us. We have the dam and we have all the relations.

"Famous Name stands at the Irish National Stud. I have been saying for a long time that he is the best value in Ireland for anybody who wants to breed a mare, for what he stands for 3,000 Euro. A beautifully-bred horse and one of the toughest and best racehorses that I have ever trained so this horse just proved the genes of his sire and his dam.

"It is beautiful ground there at the moment, it is good ground. He is very adaptable. It's always a good two-year-old race. He's a nice horse and I'll look for a Group or Listed race for him next over seven furlongs to a mile."

Pat Smullen said: "He was green that day (in Leopardstown) and I probably didn't give him the best of rides but it all came good today.

"I am actually quite pleased to ride Famous Name's first winner in Ireland. He has had a very good winner in England. He was a great servant to us. This horse looks quite like him so if he is half as good as him we will be alright!

"The ground is just on the easy side of good, the rain hasn't really got into it yet. It is opening up now and it'll probably get slower as the evening goes on. It rode near good ground so if the rain stays away we should have perfect conditions for the rest of the day."

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes

1st
5/4Fav
Tote €2.20 €1.10
2nd
1.25L
7/2
€1.60
3rd
shd
7/4
€1.02
4th
2.5L
50/1
About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.