Heeremandi win inspires great hopes

A MUNDANE mid-week fixture at Fairyhouse may not be the usual launchpad for potential brilliance, but after Heeremandi seemed to come from nowhere to make a winning debut in the Ratoath Maiden yesterday evening, Aidan O'Brien didn't even bother to disguise his enthusiasm for the occasionally headstrong filly.

"She's very highly strung, but that bit of madness could be what makes her brilliant," O'Brien enthused after Heeremandi had bolted in six lengths clear of Near Dunleer.

The Royal Academy filly's first appearance was largely unheralded as Marigot Bay was the original O'Brien runner scheduled to be ridden by stable jockey Christy Roche. However, she was found to be in season earlier in the day and Roche immediately switched.

It was probably the most energetic manoeuvre the former champion had to make on Heeremandi, who gave O'Brien his seventh two-year-old victory of the season in the top races run so far.

"I think she's probably a Queen Mary filly and she'll go straight to Royal Ascot. She's so quick, with lots of power too," O'Brien added.

Noble Thyne was a bumper horse with immense potential last season, but although a dual winner through the winter, he could still have been said to have been something of a disappointment over hurdles. However, the strapping gelding started to put that right with an immensely encouraging defeat of his market rival, Step On Eyre, in the Porterstown Hurdle.

Those who believed the two-mile trip may have been too short for Noble Thyne had to eat crow as Tommy Treacy brought him through cruising at the last to settle the issue quickly. Paddy Mullins, for one, was not surprised and now intends to send Noble Thyne over an even shorter trip, on the flat, in the Savel Beg Stakes.

I was aghast when it took him so long to win at Leopardstown over Christmas, but we discovered he has an allergy which didn't respond to drugs, only time," Mull ins said before adding with a grin: "We still don't know what he's allergic to and I'm not sure I want to know!"

Another horse who started to build on her potential last night was Akdariya. She broke her maiden in the Curkeen Rath Race, although those who backed her at 4 to 9 had to sweat a bit before John Murtagh forced the Aga Khan-owned filly five lengths clear of Legaya in the closing stages.

Pat Smullen gave the topweight Mystic Ring a rail-hugging ride to win the Monard Handicap by a length for Tommy Stack and Pat Martin trained his third winner of the flat season when Bajan Queen held off Angel From Heaven in the Garristown Handicap.