Je T'ai Porte and Ronan Whelan© Photo Healy Racing
It was a case of doubles all round as Ronan Whelan and Michael Halford teamed up to take the Irishinjuredjockeys.com Fillies Maiden with Je T’ai Porte at Dundalk.
The 6/4 favourite was very keen in the first half of the race but was also very willing when asked for an effort in the straight.
The daughter of Footstepsinthesand stayed on strongly inside the final furlong to beat Excelerina by a-length-and-a-quarter with Laurens Company a length further away in third.
Whelan was quickly following up his win aboard Chaos Control in the previous Nursery, while Halford was also on the mark earlier on the card with Shamiyan in division one of the apprentice handicap.
Whelan said, “I'm delighted with that. I learned a lot about her the last day, pulling up I would have done things a bit differently and would have got her going earlier.
“I thought it was one that got away last time so she deserved to get her head in front.
“She's too generous and nearly wants to please you too much. She did it a bit the hard way again, she was a little bit in my hands early.
“When she starts to learn how to race more, she can only improve the more racing she gets.
“She enjoys that surface and I think she could be a filly that could be versatile trip wise as well.
“I think her best days are ahead of her. She's a big leggy filly and she can only improve mentally and physically.
“The team at home have done a good job with her as she can be hard on herself.”
