Citrus Springs controls from the front The $300,000 two-year-old purchase, Citrus Springs, opened her account on her third start in the Irish EBF Median Sires Series Maiden over seven furlongs at Gowran Park. Joseph O'Brien's charge posted a solid effort at Leopardstown last time out, finishing second behind a well-backed rival, now rated 86. Breaking smartly from stall 15, Dylan Browne McMonagle set perfect fractions up front and only asked his filly to quicken two furlongs out, with the 11/2 shot responding well under pressure. First time blinkers clearly had the desired effect, and she was notably strong in the closing stages, scoring by an eased-down five lengths from a green but staying-on Mirren (5/1). The well-backed Shenta (8/1 — 4/1) was a further neck back in third. Joseph O’Brien said, "She's improved with each start. I thought she was impressive to win today from that draw. She obviously had to use a lot of energy early to get her position and she pulled away in the last furlong. “She looks a nice filly. We'll probably have a look at going to Kentucky Downs with her. There's some good prizemoney there." Additional reporting by John O’Riordan
