Curracloe impresses up in grade Curracloe maintained her unbeaten record in taking fashion under Ben Coen in the Group 3 Darley Fillies Stakes at the Curragh over seven furlongs. The daughter of Baaeed was easy to back on debut but created a good impression when asserting to win her maiden by over three lengths at Gowran. Once again, Johnny Murtagh's filly was slightly uneasy at the top of the market, going from 11/10 to 13/8 joint favourite, but similarly, she took a lead before quickening up to snatch the initiative from her two market rivals. The Qatar Racing Limited-owned bay kept on strongly to score by two and three-quarter lengths from Alpine Wedding (7/2). Damsel In Distress (13/8 JF) was a further two and a quarter lengths behind in third. "She is a very nice filly. For ours to win first time out (at Gowran) the way she did, she's a bit special. It was a beautiful race for her today. I was a bit worried about the ground but as Ben said to me this morning 'the good ones seem to go on any ground, Johnny' and we think she's a good one. He was right,” enthused Johnny Murtagh. “She quickened up really well when she got there. She was a little bit unbalanced on the ground but she's just probably good. She was able to cope today but I think you'll see a much better filly on faster ground. Today was important, another test passed. She'll probably have harder steps along the way but we were very happy with the way she won today." Additional reporting by John O’Riordan.
