'It was a nose away from being a shocking ride' - Hayes and Lattam leave it very late to land Irish Lincoln

The gap was late in coming and Chris Hayes had almost a dozen rivals in front of him with 150 yards to go, but in the blink of an eye he got the maximum out of Lattam and the pair got up to land the Paddy Power Irish Lincolnshire by a short head.

In gaining a victory which looked wholly impossible well inside the final furlong, the William Haggas-trained gelding, having just his fifth career start, became the first British-trained winner of the big handicap. 

Hayes's instructions were to hold up the 8-1 shot for as long as possible, and perhaps the way the race developed was to his advantage, but it could not have been closer. "It was a nose away from being a shocking ride, but I won, so it was a great ride," Hayes joked.

"He travelled lovely and relished the ground. After Mr Haggas had finished giving me the instructions, I asked if I should aim to be getting there inside the furlong pole and he said, 'An awful lot later if you can, but see how you're travelling.'

“I thought I was going to get there too soon and I sat, then the gap was closing and I had to switch. I just wanted to make it exciting for the owners!”

Insinuendo goes one better

Willie McCreery is planning a Group 1 campaign for Insinuendo after the daughter of Gleneagles decisively landed the Group 3 Lodge Park Stud Irish EBF Park Express Stakes in the hands of Billy Lee.

The six-year-old mare was going one better after finishing second to Mother Earth in last year's running. Later in the summer she also finished a very close second to Luxembourg in the Group 2 Royal Whip Stakes, and could have been called the winner a long way out here as she quickened nicely to the front and comfortably held off the challenge of Redressed by a length and a half.

McCreery said: "She was second last year to a better mare and we were on a hiding to nothing here, but the owners were brave enough to hold on for another year and it's a great way to get things started. 

"Billy said that most things went wrong. She didn't settle and he clipped heels when trying to get her settled and she got a bit lazy in front, but its onwards and upwards now.

"She's Group 1 placed and we'll aim her at Group 1s for the year – the Tattersalls Gold Cup will probably be next. We will see how the ground is, but I don't see why not."

Insinuendo is a comfortable winner of the Park Express StakesCredit: Patrick McCann

Stott off to a flyer

The opening two-year-old maiden provided a flying start in Ireland for Amo Racing's new retained rider Kevin Stott, as Bucanero Fuerte made an impressive debut for trainer Adrian Murray.

A long-striding son of Wootton Bassett, he really quickened decisively inside the final furlong and had his ears pricked all the way to the line in dismissing the well-supported paddock pick Sturlasson by two and three-quarter lengths. Even at this early stage, he could potentially be Royal Ascot quality.

It was Stott's first winner in Ireland on just his third ride at the Curragh, and he said: "That was exciting. He went through the motions very nicely, was very professional and pricked his ears when he got to the front. He hasn't taken much of a blow either. He gave me a very nice feel. 

"Hopefully he will come out of the race well and could be Ascot material."

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