Alpha sparks Classic dreams with Curragh stroll

Alpha got favourite backers off to a flying start on Irish Derby day with a runaway victory in the GAIN Equine Nutrition Irish EBF Fillies Maiden.

Aidan O’Brien had saddled the last four winners of the Curragh opener and this year ran three, with Alpha very much the stable’s first string after finishing a close second on her Leopardstown debut three and a half weeks ago.

A daughter of Sea The Stars out of multiple Group One-winning mare Alpha Centauri, the 8-11 shot was bustled into an early lead by Ryan Moore and while she looked green in front for the first half of the race, she lengthened impressively once asked to do so to pull six lengths clear of her stablemate Ibelieveicanfly.

Bookmakers were suitably impressed, with Coral making Alpha their 14-1 favourite from 25-1 for next year’s 1000 Guineas.

“Ryan was very excited about her. She looks lovely,” said O’Brien.

“She’ll come back here for the Debutante. She’s unusual. Ryan said when he started to ask her from three-furlong marker that she went faster from the three to the two, then faster from the two from the one and then faster from the one to the line.

“She’s a big, powerful, filly. She’s lovely and relaxed.”

Veteran sprinter Big Gossey (5-2 favourite) got rolling late to claim his 10th win at the track in the Jebel Ali Racecourse & Stables Dash Stakes.

Charles O’Brien’s grey looked to have his work cut out at the halfway stage, but he started to make inroads heading inside the last of six furlongs and was strong at the finish, getting up to beat Tango Flare by three-quarters of a length under Billy Lee.

The winning trainer said: “He’s becoming sort of a cult figure around here. I only walk into the racecourse and people are coming up to me wishing me well, ‘God he’s great, I hope he wins again’, that sort of thing. He’s got his own little fanbase.”

When asked about his longevity and following, he added: “Well you have to have a nine-year-old by Gutaifan that you couldn’t sell anywhere because he was a box-walker and not very nice as a young horse. That’s how they end up staying around!

“They are not easy won these races, they are all on big days. He’s been at every Guineas and Derby festival and he’ll come back here for the Oaks festival. It’s not like he’s picking up soft races.”

Mick Mulvany and Wesley Joyce teamed up to land the Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Handicap, with 25-1 shot Genesis clinging on by a neck from Sarahmae.

“I know he’s a very fast horse, I’ve always said that,” said Mulvany.

“He’s had bits of problems with his wind and he’s had a couple of jobs done on him. It seems to be working this year.

“He’s in again at Bellewstown on Thursday. I’m not sure if he’ll run, we’ll see what the handicapper does.”

The Ado McGuinness-trained Pierre Royal was a 12-1 winner of the Dubai Duty Free Derby Festival Handicap with Adam Caffrey in the saddle, while Johnny Murtagh’s 4-1 shot Zodiac Bear outbattled the favourite Alcantor to claim Listed honours in the Dubai Duty Free Celebration Stakes under Ben Coen.

Murtagh said: “Things are going well, we’ve had a great couple of days and it’s always great to have a winner here on Derby Day at the Curragh.

“Fair play to Ben and the horse. He’s very consistent, he had a few little niggly problems but thankfully he came back.”