Mekong River (Seamie Heffernan) sees it out well from Parish Hall (Kevin Manning)© Photo Healy Racing
Aidan O'Brien continues to carry all before him at the Curragh and all four races thus far on Sunday's card have gone to Ballydoyle inmates. Seamie Heffernan has ridden two of them, I Am Beautiful in race two and now Mekong River in the Group 3 Friarstown Stud International Stakes.
Joseph O'Brien was on the other two, Gleneagles in the opener and Ernest Hemingway in the At The Races Curragh Cup.
In the ten furlong Friarstown, Mekong River's number looked up when the front-runner was headed by Parish Hall a furlong and a half out.
However the victorious Galileo colt (Gleneagles and Ernest Hemingway are by the super sire too) was soon back on terms and he found more close home to prevail by a neck.
Aidan O'Brien said: "He was tough and got a good ride. We weren't sure about the fast ground but on good to firm ground he seemed to step up.
"He had been running on soft and when a horse handles soft you're not sure.
"He could step up now. He looks like a horse that'll get a mile and a half." (GC & EM)
