Irish Oaks-entered Chasing Paradise wins on reappearance Irish Oaks-entered Chasing Paradise (2/1f) made a winning seasonal reappearance at the Curragh today, landing the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Median Auction Fillies Maiden for trainer Johnny Murtagh and jockey Ben Coen. Carrying all-white silks of owner Emily Magnier, the daughter of Churchill led over two furlongs out in today’s race and held on well to beat Chablis Rock by 2.75 lengths, with a big 18-length gap to third-placed Arizona Star. Chasing Paradise had finished second on last season’s debut to high-class prospect Amelia Earhart, and today Murtagh mentioned “she surprised me with how well she ran last year and I’m delighted with that. “She had been going well this year and we knew stepping up to a mile-and-a-quarter would suit her well. “We didn’t know about the ground, she’s a nice mover so I do think she’ll handle better ground and she’ll probably get a mile-and-a-half in time too. She’s a nice filly and has a bit of a future. “She might have to step into a trial now and the (Irish) Oaks is the ultimate dream with her. We have a few of them entered and you are hoping that they’ll end up there, so she still has a chance.” Quotes from Gary Carson
