In My Teens impresses in Down Royal opener Out of Jer's Girl, who was twice successful at the highest level over flights, In My Teens impressively dismissed seven rivals in the opener at Down Royal, the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden. A good second on debut at Gowran earlier this month, the Gavin Cromwell-trained bay was sent off a 2/1 joint-favourite this afternoon. Short of room early on in this mile-and-a-quarter contest, the Camelot bay was soon settled towards rear by Gary Carroll, making progress into fourth with three furlongs to go. Easing to the front entering the straight, the JP McManus homebred increased her advantage inside the final 200 yards and was six-and-a-half lengths clear at the line. The 86-rated Valencia (5/1) finished second under Scott McCullagh for Joseph O'Brien, while Diamond Exchange (9/1) was another four-lengths back in third. The Paddy Twomey-trained Avant Nous was the other joint-favourite and she disappointingly faded in the straight, eventually finishing fifth. "Delighted with that," Cromwell enthused. "We knew she always wanted a trip, but we said we would start her off over a mile in Gowran and this was the obvious next race. It came soon enough for her. "She ended up being handier than we planned (in Gowran). I thought there would be plenty of pace on in the race and she might settle in behind, but she jumped really smart and she ended up handy. She hit the line well and she would have learned plenty for it. "She did things right today and as time goes on, she will learn more. She's nice to look forward to. "Always a good sign (took a while to pull her up in Gowran and today), she hit the line well. Hopefully, there is more to come. "No (plans), but I wouldn't be running her back too soon. I'll just give her a chance and she could be nice. "Jer's Girl was my first Grade 1 at Fairyhouse, it was my first runner for JP McManus. It is nice to see her doing this. What a man to train for." Additional reporting by Michael Graham
