They say there is no point in being a genius if you don’t prove it occasionally and Ballydoyle Honey certainly showed off her incredible talents when winning the final of the Sporting Press Irish Oaks at Shelbourne Park despite looking beaten for about eighty percent of the journey!
This was yet another example of Ballydoyle Honey’s brilliance as she broke moderately enough from her favourite inside box and she was only third into the back straight behind her litter sister and kennel companion Hovex Princess which showed the way into the back from the outsider Awaywitdepixies.
That remained the order all the way down the back and her followers were getting worried as the daughter of Brett Lee and Kildallon Maid wasn’t making up the ground as quickly as we anticipated. It was only on the fourth bend that she got past the wide running Awaywitdepixies and we wondered could she pick up Hovex.
But then came that typical surge for this wonder bitch owned by Alison Coxon and bred by Larry Dunne. She flew up the home straight and headed litter sister Hovex Princess close to the line before being credited with a three parts of a length margin over Hovex Princess in 28.47.
Ballydoyle Honey will go into the history books as one of the greatest Oaks winners of all time and what a night it was for trainer Graham Holland who had won the BoyleSports Race of Champions final the previous night. He had the winner and runner-up in a truly great Oaks. In third place came Ger Barber and Derek Hatch’s Ravenswood Emily came through to finish a two and a half length third.
20 июн 2015
