Billy Lee's strategic move paid off in the Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Handicap, with Amazon Lady winning comfortably at the Curragh. Lee chose to take advantage of the fresh ground on the far rail, while the rest of the field stayed together on the stands side. Amazon Lady led the race on her own, with enough energy left to finish one and a half lengths ahead of her competitors.
Trainer Willie McCreery explained: "She was drawn one and there were six metres of fresh ground for the Derby horses, so it would be fresh for the last three furlongs, so I said to get over to that. She doesn’t mind racing on her own, she won in Navan on the last day on her own. Billy has a good clock in his head and gets her into a lovely rhythm. She broke from the gates and was gone, she didn’t see anything. She’s improving every race, but unfortunately, the breeder decided to put in her foal!"
In the opening Paddy Power “From The Horse’s Mouth Podcast” Handicap, favourite Sharinay, owned by the Aga Khan and trained by Michael Halford and Tracey Collins, came out on top. The young horse, sired by Harzand, showed improvement and stayed on well to defeat the competition.
Halford commented, "He has a great mind, he’s a good sound horse and just keeps improving. The step-up in trip, they generally stay well, but the thing with him is he had a lot of pace for a Harzand. He is getting better with the trip."