Pearl Of Africa completes her hat-trick

Despite having to carry top weight, Pearl Of Africa completed her hat-trick as she took the Sycamore Lodge Equine Hospital EBF Fillies Handicap under Johnny Murtagh for Eddie Lynam.

The three-year-old daughter of Jeremy won her maiden at Dundalk in April on her sixth attempt, and she then followed up on her handicap debut at Limerick last month.

Sent off at 9/2, the Pearl Bloodstock owned filly, settled in sixth and was ridden to challenge a furlong from home, soon hitting the front.

She stayed on well from there to record a comfortable two and three parts of a length success. Saratoga Baby was well supported on track (8/1 to 5s) and she kept on to take second under Ronan Whelan for Peter Fahey, while Queen Of The Sand (7/1) was a neck back in third under Gary Carroll for Ger Lyons. One True Love was sent off the 4/1 favourite for Aidan & Joseph O’Brien and she finished seventh (was squeezed for room around a furlong out).

Eddie Lynam said afterwards: “She is out of a good Group 1 winner (Kournikova).

"Sheikh Fahad kindly sent me yearling and this is it. She goes on any ground although she looks around her a bit and that’s probably helped her to win three on the bounce.

"She’ll go for some blacktype now, there is plenty of options in Listed and Group 3 company. I’d like to leave three weeks between races with her."

Additional reporting by Alan Magee