Speedy Shartash has Johnny Murtagh dreaming big after Railway Stakes success

Saturday: Curragh

Johnny Murtagh won the Gain Railway Stakes twice as a rider, most notably with Mastercraftsman in 2008, but you sense seeing the speedy Shartash quicken up to land the Group 2 with Ben Coen wearing the famous Aga Khan silks gave him far more pleasure.

This was a plan hatched a long time ago and it came to fruition beautifully. To resist Royal Ascot is not easy when you have a top-notch juvenile, but Murtagh was patient, just as Coen was in the race, and he edged out odds-on favourite Blackbeard in a thriller.

Now that a Group 2 has been ticked off, the Group 1 Phoenix Stakes back at headquarters is on the agenda.

Murtagh said: "These colours have been very lucky to me throughout my career. We’ve had some great days. For His Highness to send us horses was special and to win the Railway Stakes is a great day for the team. He’s a nice horse who's improving all the time and he had to be brave today.

"Ben said he has a good turn of foot and all the good ones have a turn of foot. Ben said he wasn’t in a great position but when he got into the gap he quickened up well.

"After he won in Naas we thought this race would really suit him well. We freshened him up and it’s great when it all comes together. He’s in the Phoenix Stakes and could go there."

Last at Royal Ascot to first at the Curragh

A 20-1 winner trained by Aidan O'Brien on Irish Derby day. Now that is what you call a collector's item.

Aikhal was sent off at such a big price for the Group 3 ARM Holding International Stakes because he had finished last of 11 in the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot.

And that was only 11 days earlier. He has obviously turned inside out since then as he burst clear under Ryan Moore to beat Duke De Sessa by four and a quarter lengths.

O'Brien said: “Ryan said maybe we ran the wrong horse in the Derby when he got off him! He said they went a strong gallop and he couldn’t believe how well he was going and he ran right through the line.

"We thought this was a very good horse last year but he got a hold-up in the spring and he went to the St James’s Palace without a run, which is certainly not ideal. It was a slow pace and then they quickened and left him."

This was a different day and a different Aikhal.

Wexford does Bolger proud in International

The clue was in the name. Jim Bolger is a proud Wexford man and when he named one Wexford Native we should have known he was above average.

It turns out he is more than that as he battled back to beat The Acropolis in tenacious fashion to land the Dubai Duty Free Celebration Stakes by a neck. He was brave and Bolger thinks there is more to come.

The winning trainer said: "He’s been a work in progress and didn’t run until he was three, so we're trying to make up for lost time. We’ll be stepping him up now to probably ten furlongs and hopefully he’ll progress.

"I bought the dam in America many moons ago. She’s bred a few winners, but nothing of his class, and hopefully we'll be able to build a pedigree from here."

Double for table-topper Lee

Billy Lee bookended the card with a 18-1 double thanks to the victories of Teresa Mendoza in the opening Dubai Duty Free Dash Stakes and Bay Of Bengal in the concluding handicap.

Speaking about the first of those winners, the rider, currently top of the jockeys' championship, said: "I took a chance and took my time as they went fast.

"They came back to me and I was able to sit longer than I usually do. She had been running well in Listed races and one of them was going to fall her away eventually."

Results, replays and analysis

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