Chris Hayes shines on 'ruthlessly tough and genuine' Tahiyra as she conquers elders in Matron Stakes

The exceptional Tahiyra faced a few questions in her bid for a fourth Group 1 success. In addition to a 78-day break since her Coronation Stakes triumph at Royal Ascot, she had never run at Leopardstown and was facing her elders for the first time.

We now know the filly had all the answers. 

Jockey Chris Hayes has built a remarkably fruitful partnership with the daughter of Siyouni and he deserves immense credit for her stylish performance in the Matron Stakes, having pressed down on the accelerator at a most opportune time. It proved decisive.

Hayes settled his mount in mid-division from the get-go but he began to click through the gears as they straightened up, while still clinging on to the thunderous turn of foot he knew he had underneath him. Tahiyra glided past Prosperous Voyage and Zarinsk into second before taking dead aim at the Paddy Twomey-trained Just Beautiful, who had shown a potent turn of pace of her own to dart clear by a length or two.

Chris Hayes celebrates after Tahiyra's victory in the Matron Stakes Credit: Patrick McCann (racingpost.com/photos)

It was soon evident Billy Lee was there on sufferance as Hayes unleashed his mount's change of gear. Tahiyra duly did the rest. In response to her rider's urgings, she flashed by the leader and scampered clear by a length and a quarter before Hayes saluted the crowd with a celebratory burst at the line. Rogue Millennium stayed on into second for Tom Clover.

Trainer Dermot Weld was landing this race for the first time since 2011 when Emulous scored under the late Pat Smullen, and he said: "She was very good today. She's been good all year and has been on the go since March. I was happy with her beforehand, she was eight or ten kilos up from her weight at Royal Ascot. 

"She's an amazing filly. In some ways she's very similar to her half-sister Tarnawa and totally different in other ways. Tarnawa was a brilliant filly, she was the joint-highest-rated filly in the world. She was an outstanding filly to train and now her half-sister has come along. Both of them are ruthlessly tough and genuine.

"It planned out exactly as I saw it. I reviewed it quite a bit and I reckoned where the speed would be and it turned out that's where it was. She only does what she has to do. This is the wonderful thing about her. People at home ask me how she's working and whether she has improved and I keep saying I'm satisfied with her. She does very little at home, just the minimum. 

Tahiyra goes past Just Beautiful to land the Matron StakesCredit: Alan Crowhurst (Getty Images)

"We'll sit down and see whether we'll run her again this year. We'll look at whether to keep her in training next year and then look at the possibility of going ten furlongs with her next year."

Bar an agonising defeat on her seasonal reappearance at Newmarket, Tahiyra's career has been unblemished and she has confirmed herself again and again as one of the best fillies of her generation. 

Asked whether we could see an even better filly next year if she stays in training, the response from Weld was swift, assured and terrifying for those looking to dethrone her.

"Yes. There's a lot to look forward to."

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