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Ballydoyle 4-timer as Magic Wand pleases 'the handicapper'

Magic WandMagic Wand
© Photo Healy Racing

Lockdown has put a halt to Magic Wand s world tour but gained a first win in Ireland in the concluding Lanwades Stud Stakes at the Curragh today as the world traveller completed notable four-timers on the day for Champion Trainer Aidan O'Brien and jockey Seamie Heffernan.

O'Brien and Heffernan had earlier won the 1,000 Guineas with Peaceful along with wins from Snow and Lancaster House and in the finale, Magic Wand easily justified 4/5 favouritism to score a four and a half lengths win over Hamariyna

RTE interviewer Brian Gleeson elicited a fascinating response from Heffernan when asking about Magic Wand, as the rider replied “I give all the horses a handicap rating when I start riding them, in my own head. I'm not always right but for some reason if they start doing something different I try to find out why.

“She has been doing things very right and I was very confident.”

Magic Wand's list of previous foreign trips included runs in Saudi Arabia, UAE, Hong Kong, two runs in France, three in Australia and five each in USA and the UK.

Following her first Irish win, at the sixth attempt, trainer O'Brien added “she's a lovely mare; we had her in at Ascot but we were afraid of the ground getting soft and didn't want to wait.

“It was a lovely race for her here and it's nice to get her started back.

“She could go to the Eclipse or the Pretty Polly. She's an unbelievable mare.

“She hadn't run over a mile since her debut. She has a lot of class, she's a great mare and I'm delighted with her.

“Up to now she has travelled a lot but that was all cancelled so she's been kind of waiting there a while so that's why we just wanted to get her out.

“She loves that nice fast ground, she doesn't like soft ground.”

Quotes from Gary Carson

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.