Eileen Dubh Bounces Back To Win Levin
- Friday, 27 November 2009 06:59
A battled-scarred Eileen Dubh rebounded from injury in the One Thousand Guineas to score an upset win in the Group One Levin Classic at Otaki on Friday.
Eileen Dubh played up badly in the starting barriers in the One Thousand Guineas in Christchurch on November 14 and after being allowed to start finished second last.
Less than two weeks later, with only one training gallop in the interim, the Storm Creek filly held off St Germaine in the 1600m $NZ200,000 race for three-year-olds to score by half a head at odds of 25-1.
Eileen Dubh is trained at Woodville by Francis Finnegan who said he was devastated at what happened in the One Thousand Guineas.
"We were nearly in tears after the race," Finnegan told NZPA.
"She couldn't hold her head up when she came in. To get up off the canvas like she has, she's a serious fighter.
"If you had seen her after the One Thousand Guineas you wouldn't have dreamt of running in her in a maiden in a fortnight, let alone in another Group One.
"She's just been the toughest of horses right from the beginning."
Finnegan, 24, has been training just four years. He started his training career at Levin but has been based at Woodville for nearly a year.
He had been an amateur rider in Ireland but decided to make the move to New Zealand with a training career in mind.
"I just came out here to get a start," he said.
"It's very hard to get started in Ireland. You need a lot of money, a lot of good owners and I just didn't have that."
Finnegan races Eileen Dubh on lease in partnership with Waikato-based Irish veterinary surgeons Ronan Costello and Roison McQuillan.
The filly has now raced 10 times for three wins, a second and two thirds with her stake earnings up to $A167,000.
Eileen Dubh was ridden by Jonathan Riddell who is better known as a jumps jockey.
But he was a successful apprentice on the flat and in the last year or so has made a determined effort to keep his weight down.
On Friday he rode Eileen Dubh half a kilogram overweight at 55kg and was delighted to post his first Group One win.
"I was second in the (New Zealand) Oaks at Trentham last season and that started a dream of winning a Group One," Riddell said.
"I honestly believed it would never happen but dreams sometimes come true."
Eileen Dubh and St Germaine hit the front with 200m to run and had the finish to themselves with three-quarters of a length to third-placed Green Supreme.
There were 1-3/4 lengths to King Raedwald fourth, followed by Comme Tu Veux and Handsome Zulu.
Seventh was the favourite Prince Of Wales who raced about three back on the inside but had his chances extinguished when held up for a run.
It wasn't until too late that Prince Of Wales got into the clear and he made up some ground.
