Snapretend helps Joseph O’Brien complete Naas treble Snapretend repelled better fancied stablemate Beset to complete a Naas treble for Joseph O’Brien in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Bluebell Stakes. The Owning Hill handler saddled five of the 14 runners in the second of two Listed races on the card, with Beset leading the quintet as the 11-10 favourite. Snapretend, the mount of Jamie Powell, appeared up against it as a 25-1 shot, but was in front from an early stage and stuck to her guns inside the final furlong to keep Beset at bay by half a length, with Ed Walker’s British raider Capichera best of the rest in third. Powell, who was riding his second Listed winner in as many days after scoring aboard Michael O’Callaghan’s Bamako Beach at the same venue on Saturday, said: “I’m getting good chances and riding good horses. “It was a great performance (from Snapretend), I didn’t think she’d handle going that way at all. She was always just coming off the rail a little bit with me, but she was very tough and hit the line very well.” O’Brien also won the other Listed prize – the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Garnet Stakes – with 100-30 chance Princess Child. Runner-up against the boys at the Curragh just a week ago, she went one better with a short-head verdict over 9-4 favourite Faiyum in the hands of Joey Sheridan. “After her last run in the Curragh over seven (furlongs) I thought the step up to a mile was going to suit her,” said the winning rider. “The ground was on her side today. She’s extremely tough and honest, she has a lovely attitude and she ground it out at the end.” O’Brien and Sheridan had earlier combined to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden with Formous (3-1 joint-favourite), who was beaten into fifth place when a warm order for her debut here in August but made no mistake at the second time of asking. Sheridan said: “She came forward an awful lot from the first day and she was very professional. She jumped and travelled and settled when she got cover. “She had to do it the hard way, obviously, in the last two furlongs. She was there (in front) plenty soon, but she was good and strong through the line.” The shortest-priced favourite of the day was Aidan O’Brien’s Bengal Tiger, who justified his cramped odds of 2-9 with a 12-length demolition job in the Tifrums Irish EBF Maiden under Ryan Moore. “We’re delighted with him, Ryan really liked him – he was impressive,” said O’Brien. “He could run again (this season), we’ll see how he is. Either way he’s going to be lovely for next year.” The €120,000 Irish EBF Auction Series Race Final went the way of Jessica Harrington’s Diamonds And Dames (13-2), who having made it third time lucky over the course and distance three and a half weeks ago, pulled six lengths clear of the chasing pack under Shane Foley. Harrington said: “She was very good and she’s a nice filly. Shane was a little bit worried about the ground because he says it’s tacky, but she was lucky as she got drawn one and she got on a new bit of ground. “Watching the replay when he hits her she actually wobbles on to the rail, but then she got going and she absolutely flew. “I’d say we’ll put her away for the year. She got seven furlongs there and we might look at some sort of (Classic) trial in the spring.” Dermot Weld’s Abbotsford (14-1) picked up the lion’s share of the €100,000 on offer in the Colm White Bookmaker Beggar’s End Handicap, with Colin Keane’s mount pulling two lengths clear of his 16 rivals. “It was a good performance by him. He got beat half a length at Bellewstown in a three-horse race, but the race had two horses in it rated 96 and 98 – that’s the reason there was only three horses in it,” said Weld. “I wasn’t at all surprised he won here today, in fact I quietly fancied him. “He’s a lovely, big staying horse, the extra distance played into his hands today and he’s progressed as the year has gone on.”
