'You would imagine he's only going to get better' - Mehmar makes light of two-year absence to break his duck

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After more than two years off the track, it was highly likely that the Michael O'Callaghan-trained Mehmar would be one to watch in the sprint maiden, but the perseverance required to get him back on the racecourse paid immediate dividends. 

Giving weight all round, including 5lb to the 102-rated favourite Betsen, and carrying a bit of condition, he bounced out in front towards the far side of the track with just a loose horse for company, and did not stop all the way to the line in scoring by a length and a half from the keeping-on Desert Power.

The son of Mehmas looks every inch a big, powerful sprinting type, and rider Colin Keane said: "He had good form at two and it was a fair ask to do that after being off the track for so long, giving the likes of Betsen a good bit of weight.

"Michael thought he would run well but he thought he would come on for it, but he wasn't stopping and picked up. He was very professional. The loose horse helped him and brought him along. 

"He's a very strong horse and he handles that quick ground well. You would imagine he's only going to get better with racing and keep progressing."

O'Brien bandwagon rolls on

After landing the Falmouth Stakes with the brilliant filly Porta Fortuna, Donnacha O'Brien kept the ball rolling as he and stable jockey Gavin Ryan combined for a double.

The brace was completed by Naval Force in the 1m2f conditions race. Ryan sent him to the front early, but he showed a decent turn of foot too to get an edge and hold on to it with a bit in hand. 

The son of Churchill had been a little overfaced when running in the King George V Handicap at Royal Ascot last month, but considering his two winning efforts before that were on heavy and soft, he showed a level of versatility here on a quicker surface.

Ryan said: "We liked him after his Roscommon win and we sent him to Ascot. We rode him for a bit of luck that day and it didn't work out but we knew we lost nothing in defeat. He came back in flying form and the race took nothing out of him.

"He's a decent horse and he's very versatile as to ground. A mile and a quarter to a mile and a half makes no difference to him. He's a smart horse."

Jimmy initiates the double

O'Brien and Ryan's winning day kicked off in the opening two-year-old maiden, when the previous experience of Shimmy Jimmy helped on the run to the line as he just got the better of 100-1 newcomer Rion Rubette.

Ryan said: "He's a tough and honest horse. They went a really good gallop at Listowel last time when a more experienced horse beat him on a tight and turning track. We fancied him today. 

"They went a good gallop and gave me something to aim at. When the gaps came and I gave him a kick, he saw it out to the line."

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