Annemarie O'Brien (owner) leads in Beyond Brilliance with her daughter Ana aboard© Photo Healy Racing
The outsider of the two Aidan O’Brien (double on the card after Dick Whittington won the first) trained runners prevailed in the Rotary Club Of Navan Handicap, with Beyond Brilliance getting up close home to score under the trainer's daughter Ana (eighth win).
The eighteen-year-old rider, who was on the mark last Saturday at Limerick aboard Pixie Spirit, is currently in the middle of her leaving certificate examinations and she still has three exams to go.
Beyond Brilliance (10/1), who provided O’Brien junior with the perfect birthday when winning at Fairyhouse last month, was stepping up in trip to a mile and a quarter for the first time today after finishing well beaten on her last start in a Listed company at Naas.
Settled in seventh, the bay filly got a lovely run up the rail in the straight and she soon made progress.
She was pushed along over two furlongs out and once given a few cracks of the whip she got going, keeping on strongly inside the final furlong, getting up close home to win by a neck. Shanooan who hit the front under three furlongs out, had to settle for second under Connor King for George Kent at 20/1, while Primogeniture was a further two lengths back in third under Declan McDonogh for John Oxx at 5/2 (touched 3/1 on-course). Just Gorgeous for Aidan and Joseph O’Brien, finished a disappointing sixth after being backed on-course from 9/4 into clear 7/4 favouritism at the off.
Winning owner Annemarie O’Brien (mother of the jockey and wife of the trainer) said afterwards: "She gave her a lovely ride. She wanted to settle her to get the trip as we weren’t sure she would get it, but she saw it out well.
"Ana is in the middle of trying to do her leaving cert and she has three exams still to go.
"The horse has been waiting for that ground and hopefully Ana will have plenty of fun with her over the summer.”
Additional reporting by Michael Graham
