Dazzling Park opens account

Dazzling Park, who finished third in the Irish 1,000 Guineas in May, opened her seasonal account at Cork yesterday when storming home under Kevin Manning in the featured Bluebird Platinum Stakes.

After front-running Highway One Eleven was headed by Palace Royale before the two furlong pole, Kevin Manning produced the 8 to 11 shot to seize the initiative at the furlong marker before drawing clear to score by four and a half lengths.

"I had worries about the ground as she is much better on good ground. She will go next for either the Ridgewood Pearl Desmond Stakes or the Trusted Partner Matron Stakes and then we'll see about the Esat Digifone Irish Champion Stakes," said winning trainer Jim Bolger.

A disappointing field of just three runners went to post for the other valuable race on the card, the Entrepreneur Cork Stakes, sponsored by Michael Tabor.

Buffalo Berry, a course and distance winner in April, was a very prohibitive 1 to 4 chance to scoop the winners' purse of £16,250, but supporters of Aidan O'Brien's filly had a few anxious minutes before the off.

After showing a reluctance to complete her journey down to the start, she then needed more encouragement to enter the stalls. However, once the stalls opened she simply destroyed her two rivals coming home with five lengths to spare over her nearest pursuer, Lake Victoria.

Former champion Charlie Swan captured the riding honours winning both jump races on the card. The Shay O'Haire-trained Innovative initiated the Swan 29 to 1 brace when arriving late to win the handicap hurdle before his own charge Dinghy landed the Oscar Maiden Hurdle by five lengths.

Racing concluded with the four-runner Turtle Island Handicap and here victory went to Dermot Weld's Seasonal Style which defied top-weight with the minimum of fuss when forging away inside the final furlong for a four-and-a-half length success. Aidan O'Brien saddled yet another juvenile winner at Naas yesterday when Bashkir made a successful debut in the Victory Note EBF Maiden.

The son of Nureyev made all in this seven furlong event, and was driven out by Seamus Heffernan from the furlong pole to beat Fureur France by a head. "He is a very laid back colt, and will improve from the run," said O'Brien.

Martin Mooney (18) partnered his first winner in Ireland - he previously recorded one winner in a spell cross channel with Willie Musson - when teaming up with Veneguera, trained by his father Paddy at Ratoath, to land the Town House Hotel Maiden Hurdle.

Dermot Weld followed up his eight-winner haul at Galway when Generous Charmer readily justified odds-on support in the Haydens Bar Maiden. Shane Kelly sustained a cut cheek, and was taken to hospital for an x-ray on his ankle when unseated from the subsequently withdrawn newcomer Dayan.