Moracana makes most of Cork opportunity

Listed honours for Sheila Lavery’s Irish Champions Weekend scorer.

Moracana came with a withering run to mow down Irish Lullaby and take the feature Irish Stallion Farms EBF Noblesse Stakes at Cork.

The five-year-old had plundered a valuable mile-and-five-furlong handicap at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend, but had been well held in two Listed races thereafter.

Sheila Lavery’s daughter of Elzaam was consequently sent off an unconsidered 22-1 chance in the mile-and-a-half Listed race, where the money was for the former David Menuisier-trained Ottilien, who was bought by American celebrity chef Bobby Flay after she finished third in the Prix de Royallieu at Longchamp in October.

Now in the hands of Joseph O’Brien, the evens favourite set out to make the pace as usual under Dylan Browne McMonagle, but she tired in the soft ground with a furlong to run.

The sectionals suited those who found cover and Robbie Colgan timed his run to perfection to score by half a length, with Annerville staying on for third.

Lavery could not hide der delight and said: “After she won a big handicap on Champions Weekend in Leopardstown, we thought she wanted soft ground, so were really looking forward to two late runs in Naas. But how wrong did I get that? She hated it.

“Robbie just said that she was so relaxed and knew, when he pulled her out, she would get there. That was a class ride.”

She added: “I had the grandmother, her mother and bred her, so and it is great for a filly to get black type – it is what you want. I sold her to Sue (Chadwick) after her run in Navan.

“She will stick to good ground now and quite often I jump up too quickly, so baby steps. She is so relaxed she could stay further and I’ll sit down and have a proper look at her upcoming races now.”

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