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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

John The Baptist preaches to the converted at 50/1

Sat 17th Jul 2021, 13:47

John The Baptist, light blue and white, comes to catch Shark Bay, purple and whiteJohn The Baptist, light blue and white, comes to catch Shark Bay, purple and white
© Photo Healy Racing

John The Baptist got up in the final stride to win a thrilling renewal of the seven furlong juvenile colts and geldings maiden on Irish Oaks day at the Curragh.

Fozzy Stack's Caravaggio gelding went off an unconsidered 50/1 shot on debut in what looked a hot race.

He had plenty on his plate as he was off the bridle in fourth approaching the final quarter of a mile. Mark Enright rode him into third flashing past the furlong pole as Shark Bay led from a challenging Sen Ding

Enright conjured up a strong finish from his mount and they rattled home on the inner to nail 3/1 joint favourite Shark Bay by a nose. Sen Ding who was very well backed this morning was just a neck away in third at 9/2. Pioneering Spirit stormed home on the outer, on debut, to finish a short head out of the places in fourth and earned a notebook entry for punters.

Stack said: “He has a bit of talent but he was fairly hardy in the spring and that's why we decided to geld him.

“I thought he'd run a nice race but coming here on these weekends is tough.

“Mark rode him as he's done a good job at home with him and put a lot of work into him because he can be hardy.

“He did it well there today, he stuck at it well and toughed it out.

“We trained his mother (Blue Murder), who was very fast, and his father was obviously very fast, but he was always giving us the impression he'd want to go seven furlongs or a mile.

“Looking at him, he's a real powerhouse and you'd think he'd be a sprinter but maybe it's something in the genetics breaking through.

“It's nice he's won and we'll see what we do with him from here. Being a gelding you are a bit limited where you can go.”

Additional reporting by Gary Carson

1st
50/1
Tote €60.90 €5.30
2nd
nose
3/1JFav
€1.10
3rd
nk
9/2
€2.00
bf
nk
3/1JFav
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.