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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

The United States brings up O'Brien's treble

Sat 7th Sep 2013, 18:39

The United States is hard at work in frontThe United States is hard at work in front
© Photo Healy Racing

The United States looked like he would be swallowed up in the last two furlongs of the mile and a quarter Group 3 KPMG Enterprise Stakes, but he kept finding more to give trainer Aidan O’Brien a treble at Leopardstown. Elleval looked to be the main dangerous as he cut a swathe through the field assisted by Fergal Lynch. He came through to dispute the lead a furlong out, but couldn’t conquer his rival who prevailed by half a length to justify 2/1 favouritism.

Aidan O’Brien said of the three-year-old son of Galileo: “He toughed it out. I was very worried about the ground as he had a bad run earlier on it.

“That’s as soft as he wants it. He’ll probably get a bit further, but I think he’s better on faster ground.”

David Marnane’s Elleval was incredibly weak in the betting market, drifting from 5/1 in early trading today out to an SP of 14/1.

This was the United States’s third win from four races in a contest that Aidan O’Brien has won four of the last six renewals of. Zand attracted plenty of euro at the track as his price contracted to 5/2 from an opening show of 4/1. However, John Oxx’s three-year-old weakened in the home straight to finish sixth of the seven runners.

Jockey Joseph O'Brien was partnering his second winner of the day.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson

1st
2/1Fav
Tote €2.70 €1.40
2nd
0.5L
14/1
€3.80
3rd
1.25L
7/2
4th
1.75L
6/1
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.