Johnny Murtagh just got The Reaper home in front in a thrilling finish to the feature Listed sprint at Cork and the gelding could now be heading to Britain for the Duke Of York Stakes.
Coming into the Cork Stakes on the back of two placed efforts in Dubai, Ger Lyons' four-year-old (10-1) was poised to challenge when Katla hit the front heading into the closing stages.
No sooner had The Reaper taken over than he was tackled by the filly Experience who battled all the way to the line, but Murtagh got his mount to the post with a short head to spare.< Slade Power was lightly raced as a two-year-old but showed he owned a smart turn of foot as he followed up his victory on the Dundalk all-weather in December by taking the Mallow Town Summer BBQ Evening July 13th Handicap.
Murtagh, initiating a double, rode a cool race on Edward Lynam's 6-4 favourite, sitting in last place and scything through the field late on to win by a length and a quarter going away from Nini OK.
Jessie Harrington and Fran Berry also hit the target with a double, completed by the facile victory of 9-10 favourite Absolute Crackers in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.
Second on her last three runs as a juvenile, she was sent to the front from the off and Berry wasn't unduly troubled to keep her going in the straight to beat Teofolina by two and a quarter lengths.
The trainer introduced a sharp juvenile in Liberating (6-1), who was always up with the pace under Berry in the other Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden and readily saw off favourite Infanta Branca by two and a half lengths.< Sunset Beauty (8-1) was going much the best coming into the straight in the Friday Evening Racing Handicap and when Kevin Manning asked Jim Bolger's mare to quicken, she cleared away to score by four and three-quarter lengths.
