Milestone Payment leads home her rivals under Billy Lee© Photo Healy Racing
The opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at Killarney went the way of Milestone Payment on her Irish debut.
Bred here by Kevin & Louise Quinn, the daughter of Lope De Vega was sold for 400,000 pounds as a yearling and went to the US where she was trained by Chad Brown.
Without a win in four starts there, she was claimed by the Quinn's for 50,000 dollars at Saratoga in September of last year.
Making her debut for Paddy Twomey this evening, the grey four-year-old was available at 11/1 in early shows, drifting before the off from 9/2 to 13/2.
Soon in front under Billy Lee, she had all her rivals off the bridle over two furlongs out, keeping on well when ridden from the furlong pole, going on to score comfortably by three-and-three-parts of a length. Texas Sun who was sent off the 7/4 favourite, finished second under Colin Keane for Ger Lyons, while Hector Berlioz (20/1) was a neck back in third.
"Kevin (Quinn), who has had horses with me since I started training, bred this filly and sold her as a yearling," Twomey revealed.
"He bought her dam (Boastful) from Godolphin and sent her to Karl Burke for whom she won a Listed race and she is a sister of Lesson In Humility (Group 3 winner).
"Kevin claimed her out of a claimer in Saratoga last year for 50,000 dollars and we've had her all spring. I looked at her videos last week, she had been running over sprint trips on the dirt and had been training exclusively left-handed.
"She has been training well, although I hadn't done much with her.
"She had a pretty unusual profile coming here and the idea was to win and we can make a new plan now."
STEWARDS REPORT
A.J. Slattery, rider of A Shin Undine trained by J.A.Stack, reported to the Clerk of the Scales that his mount ran off the bend into the straight.
Additional reporting by Thomas Weekes
