Alphonsus Liguori shows his mettle in Killarney Joseph O'Brien's Alphonsus Liguori found plenty for Dylan Browne McMonagle to win a battle with Res Ipsa in the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF (C & G) Maiden in Killarney. The front two looked to have the first-place spoils between them as they kicked on from the field approaching the final furlong. At this stage, Res Ipsa held a narrow advantage, but Alphonsus Liguori availed of the far rail and showed his mettle as he ground down Res Ipsa in the closing stages. Browne McMonagle drove the favourite in by half a length at 2/5 having been all the rage in the overnight market. The runner-up was a 4/1 chance and was three-lengths clear of Oro Blanco (18/1). Alphonsus Liguori was shaded by a neck by stablemate Perisher on debut at Gowran Park last month. Perisher followed up by almost five lengths in Naas last Saturday. The jockey said: "It was a good performance. "When I initially went to the front, Leigh (Roche, on Lonely Island) was a bit free on my outside, so I didn't want to get competitive with him and was happy to take a lead. I then got caught for a little toe at the bottom of the straight as Colin (Keane, on Res Ipsa) came around me, but I felt he wasn't at the bottom and he found plenty for pressure. "He is a lovely horse and will only improve, so has a nice future." Alphonsus Liguori was an Italian bishop, and saint, as well as a musician, artist, lawyer, poet, spiritual writer, composer, theologian and scholastic philosopher. Additional reporting by Tom Weekes
