Duke De Sessa (4) and Colin Keane beat Piz Badile © Photo Healy Racing
The featured Group 3 Eyrefield Stakes went to 11/2 chance Duke De Sessa who produced a taking turn of foot to come from last to first under Colin Keane.
There was trouble in running for some of his rivals closer to the rail but Keane’s mount had a clear passage down the outer and powered home to beat Piz Badile (10/1) by half a length with Anchorage (11/1) another length and a quarter away in third.
After Nectaris and Masen it was a treble for Keane who brought his tally for the season to 138.
The 18/5 favourite Boundless Ocean unlucky here a week ago, was again short of room in the straight but it was a consequence of not being able to pick up as Kevin Manning would have wanted and he eventually finished fifth.
The winner, by Lope De Vega and homebred by Newtown Anner Stud, had landed a maiden in good style at the Curragh in August before finishing sixth to Native Trail in last month’s National Stakes.
Winning trainer Dermot Weld said: “That was very pleasing. He's a lovely colt, still immature, and he'll make a lovely colt next year. There is lots to look forward to.
“Hopefully he'll come back for a Guineas trial and I see him potentially as an Irish 2,000 Guineas horse.
“He just had to wait there obviously to get him out and get him balanced and he came home exceptionally well.
“He has a lot of pace this horse and the lovely thing about him is that he has pace but he has stamina as well.
“It was nine furlongs today but he'll be a lovely mile or mile-and-a-quarter horse for next year please God.
“The National Stakes just came a little bit soon for him and he got struck into which that maybe just didn't help him either.
“I probably just put him into a Group 1 a little bit quick but Colin looked after him and he learned a lot from that race, we saw that there today.
“He has a wonderful turn of pace and will be a lovely mile-and-a-quarter horse too.
“He switched off beautifully today and relaxed beautifully and he has this excellent injection of speed but he's able to carry it over a distance.
"That's the key to it. Tarnawa has so much pace but she carries it over a mile-and-a-half and this horse has a turn of pace but can carry it over the trip.
“We had him very well today, mentally he was beautifully relaxed and everything went according to plan.”
Quotes from Gary Carson
