'He deserved to win a race like this' - Falcon Eight soars to Group 3 success for Dermot Weld

A few days after celebrating the 30th anniversary of the groundbreaking victory of Vintage Crop in the 1993 Melbourne Cup, Dermot Weld showed he still has the knack with stayers as Falcon Eight put up one of the best performances of his career in running away with the Group 3 Comer Group International Loughbrown Stakes on the final day of the 2023 Flat season.

The Curragh has been a frustrating stamping ground for the son of Galileo in the last couple of years; unlucky defeats in the last two runnings of the Irish Cesarewitch are testament to that. Lady Luck was not a factor this time, though, as he powered clear in the final furlong when sent to the front by Chris Hayes, and a six-and-a-half-length defeat of 2-1 favourite Echoes In Rain did not fully do justice to his superiority.

"He's as tough as teak and was unlucky not to win the last two runnings of the Irish Cesarewitch," said Weld. "This is a race I won two years ago with his sister Search For A Song and he deserved to win a race like this. He's been a cracking horse to train.

"I'll talk to his owner Dr Lambe. There's a chance he could go over hurdles at Leopardstown over Christmas. We could wait until the spring or we could have a look at the good staying race in Dubai."

'She's the best I've had'

Kilkenny trainer Dick Donohoe has known what it is like to be contending at a low level with the mare Vischio. Her first win was off 88 in a handicap hurdle at Kilbeggan; her first Flat win was in a handicap at Gowran Park off 59. But year after year she has improved and it culminated with her eighth success and the biggest of Donohoe's career in landing the Listed Racing TV-sponsored Finale Stakes.

There was no fluke about it either. She travelled like the best horse in the race throughout for Gary Carroll and she was tenacious on the climb to the finish to see off Helvic Dream, a former Group 1 winner no less, by three-parts of a length.

"She has been through every dog fight, every festival and she's only getting better," said Donohoe.

"We were worried before about the ground. We had been running her on quick ground and took her out a few times on heavy ground because she's so light, but she's got better when she got the real deep stuff. I was planning to run her over hurdles at Christmas. We might have to rethink now, but its a nice problem to have."

Donohoe added: "She's without doubt the best I've had, but she has been in the low bracket too. We claimed her out of a Lingfield seller, which you can do in Britain if they don't win as she finished second that day. She was very weak and trained off – she was disappointing – but then she started to come right early last year and the rest is history."

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