Heavy odds-on Force perishes on Rock Of Cashel After their earlier win with Zuheila, Johnny Murtagh and Ben Coen's bid for a Navan double came unstuck when 4s on favourite Nautical Force had to yield to Ballydoyle's Rock Of Cashel in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race. Wayne Lordan got first run on Rock Of Cashel, and Aidan O'Brien's charge, a 3/1 shot in this 4-runner affair, kept up a powerful gallop from over a furlong out to hold Nautical Force by two lengths. Stable representative Chris Armstrong said: "The way the race worked out, it was a lovely race for him. "In fairness to him, he has been dropped in the deep end from word go this year. He ran with credit behind Henri Matisse and Delacroix and was beaten five to six lengths behind proper Group 1 horses. "Obviously, Johnny's horse (Murtagh, Nautical Force) brought a high level of form here. Wayne gave him a lovely ride and the race worked out for him beautifully. "He's a horse we thought of as a stakes horse after Galway last year as a two-year-old, so hopefully this will do his confidence good and we will bring him back up to a stakes race over a mile and a-quarter, and see how he goes." (MG & EM)
