RACING/Leopardstown report: Aidan O'Brien's representatives in the Classic trials at Longchamp yesterday didn't exactly set the world on fire, but Solskjaer honourably kept the older-horse flag flying at Leopardstown with an all-the-way success in the Heritage Stakes.
Kieren Fallon's trip to Paris meant Seamus Heffernan partnered the five-year-old who again showed the sort of character that once had O'Brien thinking Classic thoughts for him in 2003.
Torn ligaments from a hock meant Solskjaer never ran as a juvenile and as cruel fate would have it he repeated the injury in his first ever start in the Irish 2,000 Guineas. But the courage that allowed the half-brother to Yeats come back from such setbacks was in full view yesterday as he held off Multazem by three-parts of a length on the extremely testing ground.
"He's a strong horse and strong enough to handle that ground. He also improved for his first run of the season," said Heffernan after Solskjaer, the Royal Whip winner last year, successfully conceded weight all round.
Back in third was the favourite Zarad who didn't help his chance by getting colty before the race, but by then the John Oxx team had already notched up their 15th success of the season with the odds-on Concert Party.
Mind you Michael Kinane had to get quite serious with the winner who eventually had two lengths to spare over In The Hand in the seven furlong maiden.
"We took a chance when we saw the race cut up because basically he is a mile and a quarter horse," said Oxx.
"He is idle at home so we were never going to learn too much about him there. But he did well because that ground is as soft as you would get here."
Dermot Weld praised the Leopardstown team for managing to race at all after the favourite Utterly Heaven beat her stable companion Happy To Chat in the fillies maiden. "She is more of a miler than a seven-furlong horse, but you needed a miler out there in those conditions," said Weld who won the same race a year previously with Megec Bliss. "Hopefully we can get some black type into this filly as well."
Seamus Heffernan was also on the scoresheet after the mile handicap when Bective Ranger won for the Co Meath-based trainer Peter Casey and the Curragh-based Declan Gillespie continued his recent run of form with Final Opinion's success in the 10-furlong handicap.
Jim Bolger has Guineas contenders at Newmarket this weekend in both Democratic Deficit and possibly Pictavia, but was a winner yesterday with Sandie in the two-year-old maiden.
