'It was just unbelievable' - Danny McLoughlin on his magical 1-2 in a Listed contest They say nothing can beat your first winner, but for Ireland's youngest trainer, Danny McLoughlin, a dream success with a 1-2 in the Darley Irish EBF Kooyonga Stakes (Fillies and Mares Listed) at Navan, where his stable star Duckadilly finished ahead of Syzygy, provided a memorable first stakes victory for the County Kildare trainer in only his third year as a trainer. McLoughlin, who was speaking to Niall Tierney of irishracing.com, said: "Ah, it was magical, to be honest. It couldn't have worked out any better. I was wondering was there a fire alarm going to go off in the last furlong and the race was going to be void, because I couldn't have imagined a better finish. "They are both very nice horses and, to be fair to Duckadilly, she's just been brilliant for me. She was my first winner and maybe last year we were trying to force it a little bit because, like that, I was desperate to get as much black type as I could and to be a stakes winner. Learnings from Leopardstown "When she gets to the front, she doesn't do a whole lot. So when we ran in Leopardstown just before I let Ben Coen up, I said to him and the owners: 'She's probably about six weeks away from winning.' "I said: 'For us to keep her at home and get her to that level, we would probably end up having to go back to the day she raced that she won last year, which is in Fairyhouse on Friday. "I said: 'If we're trying to chase black type, if we run in Leopardstown, she'll come on enough from the run. We won't put any pressure on her and let her just follow and then have her coming home and see where we land.' "I thought that will accelerate our fitness and sharpen her up probably by three weeks. We were going to go to the Kooyonga Stakes at Navan and when a plan like that works, it's great. "We learned that from Leopardstown then. It's actually probably the way to ride her, the way she was ridden in the Matron Stakes and the way she was ridden in Leopardstown, and the same as in Navan. "Just let her find her feet. Don't push her, hold her underneath you and kick on to the front four and try and follow it. Don't be afraid to be too far back.'" 'Special memory' "It's a special memory. I couldn't have planned the race to go any better with the pace they went. "If I wanted the two horses to be in a piece of work and to finish in front, I'd organise it the way the race was run, so for it to happen like that, it was just unbelievable." "There's nothing like the first winner, I will say. I don't know what it is, but to have any winner is great, whether it's a stakes winner or even a 0-60 handicap winner. They are very enjoyable because it is so competitive. "In the last while, I feel I've just kind of gotten to relax and enjoy it a bit more. I don't know if it's a cooler head, but you'd just be always nervous before any runner, even though I know all the work is done and I have them in the best position possible to do well. "I was talking to Joe Murphy down in Cork one day and he said to me that even at his age, he still gets that rush and that buzz from any winner, so that was definitely nice to hear and that advice definitely makes me enjoy it that bit more. Exciting plans in mind "Syzygy is also very talented and I think there's a race down in Killarney for the filly that finished second, which is the Cairn Rouge, so I suspect we'll aim there with her. It was great to see her the other day going on good ground, and it was something that we learned about her. "Duckadilly could go to a Listed race in Sandown on the day the Coral-Eclipse is on. It would suit her. The English race, where they'd go hard in front. "It's been a nice few days for the team. I have wonderful staff and we've a great team of horses and owners at home. "I'm looking forward to the next few weeks as well. We have some nice runners. I'll be running The Pipers Call on Derby weekend, and Magny Cours will probably go over to France at the beginning of July."
