Banbridge could have America calling after winning Flat debut
By Racing TV
Last Updated: Tue 1 Sep 2026
Banbridge was the star turn at Gowran Park on Tuesday after kicking off his Flat career with a cosy success in the Racing Again September 19th Maiden.
The brilliant chaser, who has the 2024 King George and Punchestown Champion Chase among other major prizes on his CV, was the 4-1 third favourite of 13 runners in the closing contest over a mile and six furlongs, but his class shone through on the level.
Joseph O’Brien’s charge sat calmly in midfield before making headway in the final three-quarters of mile to smoothly move behind long-time leader Navy Guitar.
As they hit the hill climb to the finish, Joey Sheridan and Banbridge went into top gear as the 10-year-old powered away from the field. He eased at the line for a two-length victory, with the fast-finishing Ballybawn Belter (28-1) making the final result look closer than it was.
The American Grand National is a possible option for Banbridge, but O’Brien was non-committal in the aftermath of his latest success.
“He’s a lovely horse. We didn’t expect him to win but we thought it’d be a nice place for him to get the season off to a start,” O’Brien said.
“He really went through the race with great enthusiasm and he won snug. We are having a think about an American option for him and he also has some options at home.
“We’ll have a chat with Ronnie (Bartlett, owner) and see what he’d like to do. It was just great to see him come back and show that enthusiasm. He likes to win races.”
Johnny Murtagh is excited to see what the future holds for Curracloe following her impressive debut success in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies Maiden.
A daughter of the brilliant Baaeed, the Qatar Racing-owned filly was not that well fancied as a 22-1 shot, but pulled nicely clear of two horses with decent placed form to their name in Joseph O’Brien’s even-money favourite Zenith Blaze and Aidan O’Brien’s Snowing.
Murtagh said: “She is a very nice filly. We have a few nice fillies coming along there. She has a great temperament and had been working well at home.
“I thought she’d need the run today but Ben said she was very natural, jumped well, took a good position and quickened up really well. She likes that ground. I’d say she’s well above average to win first time out for one of ours.
“We’ll see how she is and speak to Sheikh Fahad and the team and see what they want to do. We might give her one more run this season but her future lies as a three-year-old, I think – she will be a mile and a quarter filly.”
There was a dead-heat in the following Irish Stallion Farms EBF (C & G) Maiden, with Aidan O’Brien’s 5-4 favourite Drumbeat and Daniel Murphy’s 14-1 chance Equus Victor sharing the spoils after passing the post as one.
Joseph O’Brien’s 6-4 market leader Starborn Legend then confirmed previous promise with a short head victory in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.
“It was a good spot and he was tough and he deserved to win – he’d had a couple of good runs,” said O’Brien after the first part of his double.
“He’s probably going to be around the 80 mark after today I reckon, so he’ll probably go into a three-year-old handicap and looks like he’ll go a mile if we want to do that.”
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