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- Review navan 9th Oct
Review navan 9th Oct
Dysios holds on from Manhattan Swing at Navan
© Photo Healy Racing
The afternoon at Navan belonged to Joseph O'Brien, who not only bagged a hat-trick, but also broke the record for the most winners ridden in a season.
He passed the landmark tally, previously held by Mick Kinane with 115 winners, with his second success of the day, when guiding Marvellous to victory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.
The 9-2 shot delivered a sustained challenge to I'm Yours who stubbornly refused to surrender her lead until the dying strides, with half a length the winning margin.
O'Brien's first winner of the afternoon had come with a masterful ride on the 7-4 favourite Sardinia who wore first-time blinkers in the October Maiden, setting a stern test on a colt whose stamina is evident in his pedigree, out of a Shirley Heights dam and by Galileo.< Waaheb who was second in the Champion INH Flat Race at Punchestown in 2011, went off in pursuit but was six lengths down at the line.
Not one to rest on his laurels once bagging the record, O'Brien went on land the first division of the Meath Handicap for Dennis Cullen with Dysios (13-2) who travelled smoothly into the lead before beating Manhattan Swing by three quarters of a length.
Ironically, it could have been more for the Coolmore jockey, who was twice the runner-up including on the shortest priced of his mounts, Bellasarius, in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (C & G) Maiden, when Ebasani (9-1) denied his late charge to score on debut.
He also filled the runner-up spot in the finale on Deep Speed when Tonabrocky (7-4) kept pulling out more to hold off his urgings by three-quarters of a length.
Andrew Oliver celebrated a double on the card when Stony Grey (5-1) prevailed in the second division of the Meath Handicap, to follow-up Shipyard s slimmest of victories at 7-1 in the opening Kells Maiden.