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Noonan plays supersub on Kicking Princess

Kicking Princess approaches the winning postKicking Princess approaches the winning post
© Photo Healy Racing

Kicking Princess (9/4f) came with a strong finish to land the mares' bumper in Wexford.

She was ideally placed in third swinging in with two furlongs to travel as the leader Diamondinthemud was hard driven in front of Scarlet Witch

Gary Noonan kept his partner to the inner and she was ridden to get Diamondinthemud's measure inside the final furlong.

The new leader kept on best to see it out by a length and a quarter. Diamondinthemud got the runner-up berth at 4/1 from 13/2 with Scarlet Witch third at 3/1. The front three drew clear of the remainder.

Noonan said: "Richie Deegan usually rides her but he claims five now so he couldn't ride in this race, and I got the leg up instead. I thought she would run very well.

"I don't think the ground really suited her, but a bit of class and fitness got her through, she is a smart mare.

"I ride out for Eoin two mornings a week and I go to Paul O'Flynn's as well. Eoin and Paul are very good to me and things are going well so long may it last."

Trainer Eoin McCarthy led Kicking Princess up.

Additional reporting by Donal Murphy

About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.