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Michael Graham

Michael Graham

Seahenge powers home for debut success

Sat 8th Jul 2017, 14:07

Seahenge, near side, swoops to grab Yulong WarriorSeahenge, near side, swoops to grab Yulong Warrior
© Photo Healy Racing

Seahenge was easy to back for the opening six-furlong maiden at Naas but went into plenty of notebooks after a snug victory.

Aidan O'Brien 's American-bred colt, who is a son of Scat Daddy and made $750,000 as a yearling, was making his debut with Donnacha O'Brien in the plate.

He raced in sixth of the nine runners, on the inner, as Pretty Boy Floyd took them along in a narrow lead. Yulong Warrior was nudged along on the outside to head Pretty Boy Floyd after halfway as Seahenge was soon pushed along in behind horses.

O'Brien went for the whip on Seahenge a furlong and a half down but the pair had a wall of four horses ahead of them.

Seahenge was then switched out at the furlong pole and rapidly devoured the ground to collar Yulong Warrior close him and win by a neck, without O'Brien having to get serious with him.

The winner drifted out to 6/1 from 10/3 in the morning and 9/2 at the track. The runner-up was a 5/2 chance. My Mystique the 5/4 favourite, was a further couple of lengths away in third.

Donnacha O'Brien said: "He's very green still and should improve when he's stepped up to seven furlongs or a mile. He just hung in behind horses a bit which was greenness more than anything but he did it nicely in the finish.

"He'll have to improve but he could be a Stakes horse."

Newcomer Kion from Michael O'Callaghan's yard, was the on-course gamble from 16/1 to 6/1.

However, he came in sixth but was short of room on the far rail in the final 100 yards when still in contention.

Additional reporting by Alan Magee

1st
6/1
Tote €5.80 €2.30
2nd
nk
5/2
€1.50
3rd
2L
5/4Fav
€1.02
4th
1.5L
28/1
About Michael Graham
Michael has worked in horse racing journalism for more than 15 years, having also written a weekly betting column on Gaelic football and hurling for a newspaper. He is involved in writing the My Racing Story features on this website. He spent a year in South Africa completing a Diploma in Business Administration and also studied Newspaper Journalism in Belfast. He enjoys playing 5-a-side football on a regular basis.