Bear mauls rivals to win at second time of asking Having made little impression on his initial outing at the Curragh on the first day of the season, Zodiac Bear took a huge step forward when winning the opening FITZ AGRIPLANT Maiden at Leopardstown. A better run was clearly expected here, as the Johnny Murtagh trained Kodi Bear gelding was backed from as big as 40/1 down to 5/1 before post time. Held up towards rear in the early stages, as Knockmark led from market leader Monkstown, Ben Coen went sixth on Zodiac Bear over two-furlongs out. Quickening up smartly down the outside of runners, Coen headed Knockmark and Monkstown over 150 yards out, staying on strongly to win by four-and-a-quarter lengths. Ben Coen said: “He ran ok on soft ground at the Curragh. He was very green and grabbed a hold to come forward at halfway. He picked up and then got tired on the ground. “Back on a nicer surface today, he obviously sharpened up and we dropped him back to seven. “He was still plenty green throughout the race but when I pulled him out and asked him to quicken up the straight, he put it to bed nice and galloped through the line strong. “He’s a big unit. Last year he was a slow burner, and it was always going to be about this year with him and I think he’s going to be a horse to keep improving. “It’s hard to know what was behind me but he beat them convincingly while he was still green. “It is beautiful Flat racing ground, no excuses.” Additional reporting by Alan Magee.
