Racing:Midas Touch gave Aidan O'Brien his eighth success in the Derrinstown Stud Derby Trial when landing the Group Two contest at Leopardstown this afternoon. The son of 2001 winner Galileo came from last to first under a confident ride from Johnny Murtagh to beat fellow 2-1 joint-favourite Address Unknown by two lengths.
The winner's stablemate At First Sight took the four-strong field along at a good pace from Reiteration. Address Unknown went on over a furlong out, but Murtagh had the move covered and Midas Touch quickened into the lead to score in cosy fashion.
Earlier, Wave Of Applause continued the good run of the Tommy Stack yard when knuckling down to oblige as the even-money favourite in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Auction Maiden.
Stack has made a flying start to the 2010 campaign and Group One-entered Wave Of Applause was the first choice of punters to score on her debut.
Wayne Lordan was content to sit just behind pace aboard the market leader and although she took time to hit top gear, she reeled in Catalpa Sail to collect by a head.
Stack’s son and assistant, Fozzy, said: “She has been going nicely at home and has been working well. Ideally she wants further but she is a nice filly. There is a Group Three race at Naas next month that we may look at for her.”
Troas improved on his debut fifth-placed effort to take the Join The Tote Go Racing Club Maiden for trainer John Oxx and title-chasing jockey Fran Berry.
The son of Arc winner Dalakhani needed every inch of the mile and a quarter trip to get the better of Jim Bolger's Carraiglawn, with the 9-2 chance grinding it out by a head.
Oxx said: "He ran well here last time but that was a slowly-run race and the fast pace won it for him today. The Classic trial at Gowran next week was the obvious place to go, but that is going to come too soon, so I don't know what we will do."
After being narrowly denied in the opener, Dermot Weld hit the target as the Aidan and Anne-Marie O'Brien-bred Precious Gem produced a fine turn of foot to take the Property Properly Handicap.
The 8-1 chance was asked to quicken by Pat Smullen over a furlong out and readily put nearly two lengths of daylight between herself and Maximo.
Weld commented: "She has been stakes-placed in the past and the plan was to run here and then see if she can win a stakes race later in the year. She is a beautifully-bred filly and I thought she would win today.
"She ran a really good race last time at the Curragh and is just getting better."