Orr gains first Group win with Imaging

Jockey Oisin Orr bagged his first Listed winner on Imaging at Leopardstown on April 3 and today gained a first Group win on the Dermot Weld trained colt who landed the Group 3 Gladness Stakes at Naas in the colours of Khalid Abdullah.

Last year's Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Romanised and 2017 Jersey Stakes winner Le Brivido , who was debuting for his new trainer Aidan O'Brien, made their respective seasonal reappearances in the race and while both stayed on nicely late-on, Imaging showed the benefit of having had match practise when getting the better of No Needs Never by half a length.

Le Brivido stayed on to finish a promising third while Romanised met traffic trouble and filled a similarly promising fifth place.

Winning trainer Weld has made a fine start to the new season and later stated “that was a good performance in a very good Group 3. I thought he did it very well — settled nicely and quickened up well.

“He's a Group winner over seven and he'd probably be even better going a mile. Hopefully he'll have a long season ahead of him. He's after winning his Group race already so I'm not in a rush with his next start.

“He's a horse that will travel to England or France, and obviously Group 2 and Group 1 is where we have to go next.

“That was lovely ground there today, and as long as the ground is not firm he's perfect. He's matured a lot from three to four, and he'll handle faster ground better than he would have last year. He's a solid colt.”

Quotes from Alan Magee