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Tarawa shows a turn of foot in Foxrock

Tarawa asserts under Chris HayesTarawa asserts under Chris Hayes
© Healy Racing Photos

Tarawa dropped back in trip to get off the mark on second start in the seven furlong maiden for juvenile fillies in Leopardstown.

The well supported 5/2 chance raced in touch in sixth and took closer order straightening for home.

Chris Hayes asked her for more in fifth a furlong and a half down and she surged into contention at the furlong pole almost upsides Lambada and Bold As Love .

She raced to the front in the final 150 yards and asserted in smart fashion to draw two and a quarter lengths clear of Bold As Love (16/1). Lambada dropped a further length back to third at 12/1.

Dermot Weld said: “She was impressive and she's a lovely filly to look forward to for next year.

“The plan would be to start back in one of the classic trials here next spring.

“She's a filly with a lot of pace, Chris rode her with great confidence which was the plan — to ride her for speed.

“She'd probably never be a firm ground filly, but I had a concern that it might be too testing for her. My only concern was if the ground was a little bit heavy it would take her speed away, but she's very adaptable and she handled it well.

“She's a big strong filly and hopefully she'll progress over the winter. We'll look forward to her being a group filly next year.

“The first day in Cork the ground was deep and she got tired at the furlong pole, but she learned from it. I thought she'd be hard to beat today.”

Tarawa came home fifth on debut over a mile at Cork last month. She holds an entry in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson

1st
5/2
Tote €3.50 €1.50
2nd
2.25L
16/1
€3.20
3rd
1L
12/1
€2.50
4th
3L
5/1
bf
1.5L
7/4Fav
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.