Florida finds plenty in Fairyhouse opener Ballydoyle colt Florida Bay dug deep to land the odds in the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Race at Fairyhouse this afternoon. The Mehmas colt went to post a well-supported 8/15 shot to build on a promising debut effort at Leopardstown last month, when third to Nola Soul. Jack Cleary’s mount disputed early before leading approaching the halfway point, in the seven furlong contest. Mudyrk travelled well to press the hotpot passing the two pole but Florida Bay pulled out plenty in the closing stages as he recorded a half-length success. Stable representative Chris Armstrong said of the Aidan O'Brien-trained winner "He had a lovely run with Wayne (Lordan) the first day in Leopardstown, when he just got squeezed a bit late on. “If you come here with a run under your belt it’s a fair help on this track. With normal improvement we thought he’d be hard to beat but he was still fairly green. “Jack made it on him and when the second horse came to him it helped him, he found plenty for pressure. “He’s a lovely type of colt and he’ll have no problem stepping up into stakes company. “He’ll probably go to Naas next for the Pat Smullen listed race. If he doesn’t go there he could be one for the Tyros Stakes. “Jack said he’d probably be better going up to a mile. He’s a horse that finds plenty for pressure and once he puts it together he’ll be a nice horse for the back end.”
