Ronan Whelan successfully teamed up with his boss Jim Bolger for the second time at Wexford this afternoon as Something Graceful came late to take the Slaney Handicap.

The Whelan/Bolger combination were on the mark in the opener with Morga and subsequently completed a treble on the card with Irish Bulletin Benbecula set out in his customary front-running role and with over a furlong to run it looked as if the top-weight would complete a memorable few minutes for trainer Johnny Murtagh, who had just partnered his fourth King George winner on the German-trained Novellist at Ascot.

However the leader wilted in the closing stages as Something Graceful got up in the final 50 yards to score by half a length, with Phangio finishing best of all to dead-heat for second place.

Whelan said, “Two furlongs out I thought he’d slipped me but then I felt him coming back to me, and a furlong out I always thought I was going to get there. She has been called a few names in the past but she was gutsy today.”

Additional reporting by Donal Murphy