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Grande Cuvee gets first opening

Grande Cuvee leaves her rivals for dustGrande Cuvee leaves her rivals for dust
© Healy Racing Photos

Owner/breeder Michael Begley's Grande Cuvee (1/3f) gained a valuable first success today, landing Dundalk's opening BAR 1 Betting 'Your First For Football' Maiden for trainer Fozzy Stack and jockey Seamie Heffernan.

A sister to last year's Tipperary Abergwaun Listed Stakes-winner Grande Marques, Grande Cuvee today made all the running and scored easily by 3.25 lengths from What's Enough .

Heffernan said "she's a huge, big filly and didn't run as a two-year-old because she was too weak. Maybe she is still weak this year and just kept running into one. Today looked a very good opportunity, and we would have been disappointed if she had got beaten, but she actually won very well.

"Hopefully she will improve with time."

A grande cuvee means a top-tier, special-selection blend produced by a winery or Champagne house.

Quotes from Michael Graham

About Tom Weekes
A lifelong racing fan, Tom began writing point to point reports in 2002 and has reported for irishracing.com since 2003, when he joined Irish Racing Services - since taken over by the Press Association. Has ridden a point to point winner and won the 2018 Irish Field Naps Table.