County Mayo and Wayne Lordan © Photo Healy Racing
Having won the opening race on the card, Wayne Lordan and Aidan O'Brien recorded a quick double when County Mayo made just about all under the Cork jockey to win the Irish Stallion Farms EBF(C&G) Maiden at Gowran Park.
A well beaten fourth on his debut at Tipperary earlier this month, the Ballydoyle colt was sent off 8/1 to improve on that ordinary introduction.
Sent straight to the front from stalls, Lordan made every yard on the Wootton Bassett colt, finding plenty for pressure when strongly challenged by 10/11f Tribal Nation inside the final furlong.
Lordan said:- “He came forward very well from the first day. In Tipperary all he did was stay.
“Coming here with a bit more experience I was able to jump and go forward. He got into a good big rhythm and he galloped all the way to the line.
“I was hoping that's what would happen, and that's what happened.
“He ran a lovely race in Tipperary, when they quickened he just got a little bit flat footed and rolled around but today he was more on the button.
“I was able to get into that nice rhythm and he kept galloping all the way to the line, he's a horse that's going to stay well next year.
“The second horse got to my boot and my fella went forward and that was it, that's as much as I saw thank-God.
“He's a fine big horse, he made a lovely step forward from his first run and hopefully he can do that again.”
Additional reporting by Gary Carson.