Palace Gardens delivers under Wayne Lordan© Photo Healy Racing
Jockey Aidan Coleman appears to be bringing his trainer brother Kevin plenty of fortune as the pair watched Palace Gardens strike in the six furlong nursery at the Curragh.
The 22/1 chance closely attended the leader Lady Skipper before picking up the lead inside halfway. Wayne Lordan was soon hard at work on her to hold her advantage and the pair were there to be shot at in the final quarter of a mile.
To Palace Gardens' credit, though, she forged on in the final furlong and resolute in the final 150 yards as she went on by a length and a half from Lasmuigh (5/1) who held on to second from Lazer Port (10/1).
“She has loads of ability, we had her entered in loads of big races early in the season but she's been very disappointing,” said trainer Coleman.
“Wayne actually said she's quite tough and when they came to her she fought them off.
“She's had a few excuses, she's been in season quite a bit and we found it had to work around that.
“There are a few times she's just disappointed but she has loads of ability and is probably the fastest two-year-old we have.
“They can be tricky and they aren't all straightforward. I wasn't going to back her today or any other day anyway.
“Wayne was second on her to a good horse, Apache Outlaw, when she was only beaten three-parts-of-a-length. He went on to be third in a Group 2 so her form is rock solid.
“We made an error in running her back in Roscommon after Fairyhouse. We stepped her up to seven-and-a-half in soft ground and she simply didn't stay.
“We ran her again soon after and she was Flat so I probably haven't been doing my job great with her. She's ran seven times but she was good there today and she's won so it's great.
“She's in the sales next week, we need to make room and I think she'll be a perfect filly for England.
“She'll win plenty of races and Wayne thought there was plenty there.”
The trainer was joined in the winners' enclosure by Aidan and added: “I'm mucking out now and he's riding, we've switched and I'm doing the dirty work.
“He arrived the other day and I brought him racing, I don't know if he even wanted to go, but the filly won (One Small Step at 22/1 in Gowran Park) and he said he'd come today.
“I said we had no chance but he said he'd come anyway and she won again. It's great.”
The Stewards requested a report from Kevin Thomas Coleman, trainer, as to the apparent improvement in form of Palace Gardens, placed first, as compared with its recent form. The trainer reported that being ridden up with the pace and getting her own way along with the application of first time blinkers, in his opinion contributed to the improved performance. Having considered the evidence, the Stewards noted the content of the report.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
