Donal Murphy
Classy Come To Heel lands a gamble
Come To Heel (left) comes to pick off Hurryupharriet in the closing stages
© Photo Healy Racing
After a gamble on a David Wachman trained runner went astray in the opener, Come To Heel made up for that disappointment as she landed a gamble of her own in the Listed Irish Field Curragh Stakes.
The daughter of Elnadim was 9/2 last night with Paddy Power, but that price was long gone this morning and she opened on-course at just 7/4 before going off the clear 6/4 favourite.
The chestnut filly created a good impression on her debut at Cork over six furlongs earlier this month, beating Candy Apples by half a length.
Dropped in trip by a furlong to five, the Wayne Lordan ridden victor was fifth at the halfway stage, before she was switched to the outer and was ridden in fourth a furlong and a half from home.
She kept on best from there to lead close home, winning by half a length at the line. Hurryupharriet made a brave bid from the front, but she couldn’t match the winner in the closing stages, and she had to settle for second at 9/1 under Pat Smullen for Willie McCreery. Boom The Groom (12/1), for David Marnane and Fergal Lynch, was best of the colts, a length and three parts back in third, although he may have been even closer only for he was caught for room under two furlongs out.
David Wachman said afterwards: "She is a nice filly, she is still very raw. She didn’t learn much in Cork but she may have learned a bit more there.
"She could be a nice filly going forward.
"I suppose she was probably on the wrong side there as the pace was on the other side.
"The Cheveley Park (Newmarket 28th September) is the target and I don’t know whether she will run between now and then."
Additional reporting by Gary Carson