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Donal Murphy

Donal Murphy

Another double for Smullen as Queen scores

Fri 9th Aug 2013, 19:34

Ballybacka Queen gets the better of Chicago GirlBallybacka Queen gets the better of Chicago Girl
© Photo Healy Racing

The Pat Fahy trained Ballybacka Queen battled gamely to land the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction 2yo Maiden, providing her rider Pat Smullen with a double (earlier scored on Hurryupharriet , his second in as many days.

The bay daughter of Hurricane Run finished second on her two starts prior to this evening, finishing a neck behind Avenue Gabriel on her debut at the Curragh in June, before finding Tarfasha three and a quarter lengths too good at Galway last week.

Sent off the 9/10 favourite to go one place better this evening, she was prominent throughout, and was ridden into a narrow lead a furlong from home.

She kept on well under pressure in the final furlong, seeing off the challenge of the tail-swishing Chicago Girl (5/1) by half a length. Adelana finished three and a quarter lengths back in third under Declan McDonogh for Mick Halford at 7/1.

Pat Fahy said afterwards: "It is nice to get it out of the way. "I didn’t like running her so soon after Galway but I felt I had to.

"Pat said he always felt confident on her and she kept pulling it out.

"We will freshen her up now and she might have one more run in a Listed race before we leave her off.

"She is a big filly already at 16.1hh."

The winner was bought by Fahy for €12,000 at the Goffs Sportsman Yearling Sale last October.

Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes

About Donal Murphy
Donal graduated from Maynooth University in 2010 with a BBS in Equine Business and since attained a diploma in Sports Journalism from Dublin Business School. He holds a variety of roles in the horse racing industry, reporting for the Press Association and p2p.ie, while also working for SIS and the Tote. From Wexford, he is a keen runner and has completed over 100 parkruns at various locations around the country.