Gleneagle Bay repays connections with a big pot Gleneagle Bay bridged a gap of over two years without a win in style when landing the €100,000 Mallow Premier Handicap at Cork. The Gleneagles gelding won a Dundalk maiden on debut for Joseph O’Brien and was bought for 85,000 guineas at the Newmarket July Sale in 2024. He’s filled the runner-up spot three times for Stephen Thorne and was given some leniency by the handicapper dropping down from a career high mark of 97 last autumn to score here off 89. The 6/1 (from 8/1) chance made headway between horses well over a furlong under Colin Keane, and quickened clear inside the final 100 yards to score by a length and three-quarters. Headmaster came home well to take the runner-up spot with last year’s winner Fort Vega the same distance further back in third. Thorne said, “At long last he has delivered for us. We will have him two years by next month and he has run in all the big races but has been the bridesmaid on several occasions. "He handled soft ground on a couple of occasions last year, but I think it isn't suiting him anymore and as a result he has dropped to a nice mark. We were hoping he'd come alive back on today's fast ground and it is good timing ahead of Jagged Edge's run at Royal Ascot next week. "I'm delighted for Amo and that's their first winner for me. He had been bought for Royal Ascot last year where he ran a cracker from a low draw. "Kia (Joorabchian) rang me during the week to see about entering him for the Buckingham Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot but he would have been too low to get in so we'll see now and toy with the idea of running him on fast ground in the UK." Quotes by Tom Weekes
