Thistle Bird and George Baker see it out well from Venus De Milo and Joseph O'Brien© Photo Healy Racing
< Thistle Bird landed the first Group One triumph of her career as she took the honours in the Newbridge Silverware Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
With regular pilot James Doyle required in France the Roger Charlton-trained mare was ridden by George Baker, who settled her in a share of third place as the favourite Ambivalent showed the way to Venus De Milo
The latter went on a quarter of a mile out, but Thistle Bird (4-1) was travelling well just behind and took charge at the furlong pole before racing clear to score by a commanding two and three-quarter lengths.
The rest of the day belonged to Aidan O'Brien, who followed up Saturday's treble at the track with another four winners including the success of 6-4 favourite Ernest Hemingway in the Group Three At The Races Curragh Cup.
Joseph O'Brien settled the five-year-old in mid-division in the one-mile-six-furlong contest and he quickened up in style going to the furlong pole to go clear before holding Certerach who was played late from the rear, by two lengths.
Seamie Heffernan led all the way on I Am Beautiful in the Grangecon Stud Stakes, though it was a close-run thing as the 12-1 Ballydoyle 'second string' was getting tired close home and held Jeanne Girl and Quinta Verde by a short head and a nose.< Mekong River (5-1) was another to go on from the start, and he responded well to Heffernan's urgings in the Friarstown Stud International Stakes when Parish Hall loomed up and took a slight lead, rallying well to get back up by a neck.
Australia was beaten in the Barronstown Stud EBF Maiden last season but there were no such alarms for Ballydoyle stablemate Gleneagles (evens favourite), who was travelling best when sent on by O'Brien jnr inside the final quarter-mile and won readily by two and a half lengths.
Evanna McCutcheon was unable to run stable star Maarek on Saturday, but she emerged a winner as a jockey when getting Adrian Keatley's Zeftan (14-1) home by a head in a driving finish with Nina Carberry on favourite Tooreen Legend in the Macari'
