Layla lunges late in Navan opener Layla Belle powered home on the stand’s side to get up late on and land the opening median auction maiden at Navan this afternoon, for trainer Danny McLouglin. Miss Mona Keeba looked set for a winning debut when leading over a furlong from home but couldn’t hold the late charge of Layla Belle. Ben Coen got a great tune out of the 9/1 shot as she led in the dying strides for a short-head victory in the sprint, over just shy of six furlongs. The winning daughter of Supremacy was dropping back in trip having been sixth on her debut at Naas last month. McLoughlin said: "Guy O'Callaghan owns this filly and he has been brilliant to me. "A couple of years ago I had to get heart surgery and I wasn't allowed to ride out, and I was out of racing. I was allowed to do groundwork and I was itching to go. I had done yearling prep down with Guy in Grangemore Stud and he has been nothing but brilliant to me since I started training. He is only around the corner from the yard where I started out. "You need great owners to make it work and to keep it all turning. I'm just very, very grateful to people like that. "She was a shade keener in Naas. She actually surprised us because she is very laid-back in everything she does at home. They probably went a bit steady the last day. She jumped and showed plenty of boot. "She's a filly with a very good pedigree by Supremacy out of a mare (Layla Jamil) that Guy still has, and she has been very good to Guy. “If memory serves me right, she could have been the first mare that Guy had since starting in Grangemore. The first foal out of her was Birchwood and he was placed in a Group One and is a half-sister to this one, so the family owes Guy nothing. "The pedigree tends to come through a lot of the time. "She's a filly that will keep progressing. We started over seven (furlongs) thinking that that was her trip. “Ben said there that she was very green but she was strong at the line. He would have no problem stepping up with her, so that leaves the options open." (Quotes by Michael Graham)
