Moody upstages stablemate One Look in Meadow Court

Moody led from start to finish to upstage her better fancied stablemate One Look in the Al Shira’aa Racing Meadow Court Stakes at the Curragh.

One Look was a 5-6 favourite to successfully defend her title in the Group Three contest, with Moody a 15-2 shot as she stepped down in trip but up in class in search of her fourth successive victory.

Billy Lee ’s mount was soon bowling along in front and never really looked like being reeled in, passing the post with three and a half lengths in hand over British raider Rhapsody in second. One Look failed to pick up and was ultimately disappointing in sixth place.

Of the winner, trainer Paddy Twomey said: “She’s a nice filly. She’s won her Listed race, her Listed race with a penalty and a Group Three now.

“She’s versatile. With Mr (Andre) Fabre she’d ran at nine furlongs twice. She’s just tough and I’d say she’s good too.

“She’s in the Prix Jean Romanet, she’s in the Yorkshire Oaks and she’s in the Prix Vermeille – she’s in everything.”

Lee was completing a quickfire double on the card, having previously steered Rebel Wave (4-1) to victory in the Hailey Equine Irish EBF Fillies Maiden.

Willie McCreery ’s youngster had shown a decent level of ability in her first three races and put that experience to good use, finishing strongly to get up and beat promising newcomer Stooked by a head.

McCreery said: “I’m delighted with that. She did nothing wrong in Limerick (finished a head second on her latest outing) and has come on from that.

“If you don’t win the next day, you’re going backwards. She’s won and I thought she fought well there to win. She’s a hardy filly and she’s going the right way.

“We’ll keep her in a fillies’ handicap or look around for a bit of black type.” Porto Vecchio made an impressive debut for Dermot Weld in the Juddmonte ‘Lead Artist’ Irish EBF Maiden.

The son of Frankel is a full-brother to the stable’s Irish 1,000 Guineas heroine Homeless Songs and looks a smart prospect judged on the way he travelled strongly before picking up well under Chris Hayes to score by a cosy half-length from Victory Speech

Mac Swiney (2020), Henry Longfellow (2023) and The Lion In Winter (2024) are among the high-class recent winners of this race and Weld expects his 9-1 victor to go on to bigger and better things.

“He’s a very progressive colt and I thought he’d run a very nice race,” he said.

“He hasn’t been on grass this year yet, which is surprising for one of mine. This was his first time, so I thought he just might find it all a little bit strange and he’d be a little bit immature, but he did it all very professionally.

“He’s a good colt. I think he’s definitely stakes calibre and I’d hope that we could build him into a horse that could run in the Group One National Stakes, that would be the plan for him.” Sondad (9-2) won the Liverpool FC Foundation Scurry Handicap for Mick and David Easterby and Joanna Mason.

A winner at Epsom on Derby day before finishing ninth in the Wokingham at Royal Ascot, the visored five-year-old grabbed the lead inside the final furlong of this €100,000 contest and was good value for the winning margin of half a length over fellow North Yorkshire challenger Dark Thirty

Mason said: “What a race. This horse has got me to some amazing meetings like Royal Ascot and winning down at Epsom two years running. I have to thank the owners, my grandad (Mick Easterby) the boss and my uncle (David Easterby) for allowing me to ride him.

“We (Easterbys) won this race with Perfect Pasture 10 years ago and it’s always an aim if we’ve got one good enough.

“He was definitely unlucky in the Wokingham. We were drawn on the wrong side and as you could see today, I always need something to take me into it. It worked out perfectly today.”