Legatissimo, right, beats Tamadhor into second at Galway© Photo Healy Racing
Legatissimo nailed Tamadhor close home to land the seven furlong juvenile maiden in Galway.
Fortunes were wagered on Dermot Weld’s unraced filly Chinese Light who was backed down to even money on the off. She had the plum stall one draw and Pat Smullen made full use of it as she moved swiftly into the lead.
She was still there on the climb for home, but Kevin Prendergast’s Tamadhor hunted her down and briefly got her head in front as the line loomed. However, Legatissimo was in full flight and mowed the pair of them down in winning by half a length at 12/1. Tamadhor was also returned at 12s in second. She beat Chinese Light into third by a length and three quarters.
Legatissimo was seventh approaching the home turn, but Wayne Lordan got a split between runners inside the final furlong and the daughter of Danehill Dancer showed a terrific turn of foot to chase down and beat her rivals.
David Wachman said: “She’s a nice filly. We liked her going to Leopardstown, but she just seemed to empty. She’s a big big filly. Her dam’s (Yummy Mummy) a sister to Fame And Glory. We said we would ride her behind today to see what happens. We rode her handy the first day and it didn’t suit so we did the opposite today.
“He (Wayne Lordan) needed all the luck, but he won snugly in the end. She’s a big filly and she’s really for next year so we’ll go steady with her.”
Wayne Lordan said: “I dropped her in and she travelled well and picked up well when meeting the rising ground. She’s a nice filly and she learned a lot from the first day.”
Legatissimo was backed from 16/1 to 8/1 before racing. Her first run saw her finish sixth in Leopardstown. During the race she touched as big as 90/1 as Chinese Light went 1/7.
The winner paid 20 euro for a win on the Tote.
Additional reporting by Gary Carson
