Keane doubles up on Davison's Mooneista

Colin Keane brought up his Curragh brace on 10/1 shot Mooneista in the Group 2 Paddy Power Sapphire Stakes over five furlongs.

The Dandy Man filly got a tow into the race on the near side from Gustavus Weston as Strong Johnson blazed a trail down the centre of the track. Logo Hunter and Make A Challenge took over in the final two furlongs as Mooneista began her forward move.

She powered her way to the front in the final furlong and was chased by Gustavus Weston, but the filly was strong at the finish as she hit the line a length and a quarter to the good.

Runner-up Gustavus Weston was also a 10/1 chance and was two and three quarter lengths clear of Romantic Proposal (10/3).

Trainer Jack Davison said: I'm never short of words and this filly is able to walk the walk which is really good for both of us, she has backed me up.

“I've thought highly of her from early days. To get her to develop and come and win these type of races on a big weekend is really pleasing.

“Colin is as cool as you like and he said it was a matter of pushing the button. He felt like he had loads of horse under him the whole way. She's a little monster really.

“She's in the Flying Five on Champions weekend so we'll have a crack at that all going well.

“I knew she had it on her. There were excuses when she was beaten, she's been beaten by Logo Hunter a couple of times, giving him weight and he got first run on us and that kind of thing.

“I knew if it went smooth and we got everything right then we would be at the top of the three-year-olds.

“She's ground versatile. There isn't a whole lot of her so Ascot was too soft, she can't operate on that as she's very quick. The easy side of good is probably perfect.

“This is absolutely huge. It's a really tough game and it's very hard to get these horses. I'm very lucky to have her.

“We've 25 of them and we put a lot into training all of them. It's just nice when you have one that can compete and win at this level. It really just keeps you going and encourages you to push forward.

“For me it's about quality rather than quantity. It's just so competitive in Ireland and I don't see myself training low-grade horses in 10 or 15 years, trying to compete at that level.

“We are working hard to try and up the quality the whole time. We have some nice fillies and support from good owners."

Colin Keane added: "We jumped and rattled along. This filly travelled everywhere to be fair, I got onto the tail of Gary (Carroll, on Gustavus Weston) and he brought me everywhere I wanted. Going by the furlong pole, we picked it up and she picked up well to the line.

"To be fair, Jack has done a brilliant job with her. I rode her at the very start of the year in Dundalk before the grass (season) had even started and he said 'this filly won't be far off a Group One sprint'. I half questioned him but he has done a marvellous job with what he has done with her.

"She's a very straightforward filly and turns up when you need her."

Keane took the preceding race on the card, the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes with Beauty Inspire

Paddy Power shortened Gustavus Weston from 16/1 to 12/1 for the Betfair Sprint Cup.

Additional reporting by Gary Carson