El Tesoro, near side, fends off Not Too Real Bad © Photo Healy Racing
Cheekpieces on and a venture into handicap company for the first time saw El Tesoro get off the mark for Donnacha O'Brien at Dundalk.
Paddy Harnett took 7lb off his back in the six-furlong nursery and duo tracked clear leader Zaza Zut Push came to shove on the leader as her advantage was eroded a furlong and a half out. El Tesoro soon had her measure and went on.
He edged right when ridden approaching the furlong pole and Harnett swiftly changed his whip into his right hand.
His mount kept going, but faced a stern challenge from Not Too Real Bad in the closing stages. He held on by a short head at 10/3 from the 8/1 runner-up. Brazilian Princess (12/1) wasn't far away in third at the finish.
Harnett said: “They went fairly quick out in front and I got a nice tow into the race. I was comfortable the whole way and picked up Joey Sheridan's horse (Zaza Zut) just after coming into the straight.
“He quickened up well and hit the line well. The second horse was coming to me, but I thought there was a bit more left in him.
“He bumped into a couple of good maidens. His first run was obviously a nice debut behind Little Big Bear. We were running into proper horses and I'm delighted with that.”
When asked if he thought the cheekpieces helped, he added:- “I'd say so, he's quite a laid-back horse and they brought him on an extra bit.”
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
