A €85,000 wedding present paid off in style at Leopardstown last night when Triskel brought a touch of showbiz to her success in the Listed Silver Flash Stakes.
The Tommy Stack-trained filly is owned by actress Bairbre O'Toole who plays "Deirdre Burke" in the RTÉ soap Fair City, and she made it third time lucky with a 14 to surprise defeat of the favourite Mad About You.
Triskel's big target now will be the Parknasilla Hotel Goffs Fillies Million at the Curragh in September but last night's black type victory already makes her purchase price something of a bargain.
"Barbara's husband Liam bought her as a wedding present and it has worked out pretty well," said Stack's son "Fozzie", who has been greeting a steady stream of two-year winners in recent weeks.
"If you'd asked me a couple of months ago for a filly to follow, it would have been this one but she scoped dirty after her first run at Naas and she needed her last run badly.
"But she has always showed us a lot and I suppose the Million will be the plan now," he added. "She does like a cut in the ground and she'll get a mile and a quarter next year."
The Dermot Weld team didn't have long to wait for some compensation for Mad About You's defeat as Maryellen's Spirit made a winning debut in the mile juvenile maiden for her owners, the Newtown Anner Stud.
The filly was a first runner for the Clonmel enterprise who paid €360,000 for the half sister to the Oaks-placed Hazarista and Weld is pondering a Stakes target later in the season.
"Something like the Silken Glider at the Curragh might be suitable and she is a lovely staying filly in the making," the trainer said.
Jim Bolger was in double form with his fillies as My Girl Sophie raced wide in the opening Nursery to beat Princess Zoe and Akua'Ba finally opened her account with an unchallenged seven-length success in the mile maiden.
"She'll try and carry the penalty at Tipperary on Saturday," said Bolger of My Girl Sophie, a $300,000 daughter of Danzig.
The Tote Galway Mile, formerly the McDonogh Handicap, is a likely target for Baby Blue Eyes after the Danny Grant-ridden filly overhauled Anna's Rock in the closing stages of the nine-furlong handicap.
"She's a progressive filly and she loves this soft ground," explained trainer Pat Flynn. "If it's soft at Galway, it would suit her too but if it isn't, we also have Worldy Wise for the race."
Flynn and Grant later doubled up in the concluding Challenge Stakes when Galistic, in the colours of Michael Smurfit, got the better of Reform Act to secure a valuable Listed victory. A length separated the pair after a prolonged duel up the straight.
The 22-year-old jockey Amy Parsons rode her sixth winner of the season, and 11th overall, on board Raise Your Heart in the apprentice handicap.
"I paid €30,000 for him as a foal but he can very difficult and Amy gave him a very good ride," said trainer Joanna Morgan.
Cheddar Island was an odds on favourite to land the claimer and duly obliged by a length and three quarters from the outsider Hidden Tears.
"He won't win a handicap so we'll try and win another claimer," said his trainer Kevin Prendergast.
