Lucius Tiberius (near side) and Donnacha O'Brien just beating the partly hidden Mawaany and Aussie Valentine© Photo Healy Racing
Donnacha O’Brien’s battle through the rush hour Dublin traffic proved more than worthwhile as he completed an across the card treble when Lucius Tiberius landed the valuable Irish Stallion Farms EBF Nasrullah Handicap at Leopardstown.
The current leader in the jockeys’ title race recorded a double earlier in the afternoon at Dundalk, and is now four ahead of Colin Keane (48-44).
The 7/2 favourite was held up towards the rear of the 12-runner field in this 100,000 euro event before being switched out early in the straight.
The Aidan O’Brien-trained three-year-old quickened up nicely inside the final furlong and, in a tremendous three-way photo-finish, just got up on the line.
The Keane-ridden Mawaany was beaten just a short-head, with Aussie Valentine the same distance back in third.
Donnacha O’Brien said, “He has a bit of pace and I planned on being a bit more forward than that but they went a good gallop so I just took my time on him. When I brought him out he quickened up really smartly and just had a little look when he got there.
“They were after going a good gallop and I didn’t want to force him early, and it was either going to open up for me or it wasn’t. I got the gap at the right time and he had a good turn of foot.
“I think he’s not a bad horse at all, and a mile and a quarter suits him. He has a bit of boot, and is improving like a lot of Camelot’s are this time of year. He’s one to look forward to.”
He was fined 200 euro for missing an earlier ride at Leopardstown after a quick dash by road from Dundalk and explained, “It was a bit of a struggle getting from Dundalk and a few crashes and a concert (Bruno Mars in Marlay Park) didn’t help.”
