Falcon Eight lifts Loughbrown prize for Dermot Weld

Easy Group Three strike at the Curragh for stayer.

Dermot Weld’s Falcon Eight was a wide-margin winner of the Comer Group International Loughbrown Stakes at the Curragh.

The dual-purpose eight-year-old is often seen to good effect on the track and finished second in the Irish Cesarewitch over a trip just a furlong shorter in September.

On heavy ground he returned to bid for Group honours under Chris Hayes and at 11-4 he succeeded, defeating Willie Mullins’ 2-1 favourite Echoes In Rain by six and a half lengths.

“He’s as tough as teak and is unlucky not to win the last two runnings of the Irish Cesarewitch, so he deserved a nice win here,” Weld said.

“He’s been a great dual-purpose servant and his full-sister Search For A Song won this race two years ago.

“It’s a possibility that he might go over hurdles at Leopardstown at Christmas or he might go to Dubai for the two-mile race.

“He has stacks of enthusiasm but he is a character.”

Trainer Richard Donohoe enjoyed a poignant first Listed win as Vischio stayed on to take the Start Your Racing TV Free Trial Now Finale Stakes under Gary Carroll.

An outsider at 16-1, the mare was not for beating and had victory in her sights a furlong from home as she refused to be passed in a three-quarter-length triumph over Noel Meade’s Helvic Dream.

“It’s absolutely brilliant for the syndicate involved – my cousin Michael and his sister Mag and the sons,” said Donohoe.

“She was bought for a good friend of mine, John Kennedy, who was fighting cancer at the time. She was second in a seller and we were able to claim her for about 8,000 (euros).

“She won a hurdle race just before Michael died and the current syndicate have had nothing but fun with her ever since.

“She started off this spring and has been at nearly every festival since. We thought she might not go on heavy ground and it’s better she’s got on heavy ground.

“You could see lately she was in brilliant form and she’s really strengthened. The races have taken nothing out of her.

“She had a bit to find on several horses in the race today but there is always a chance in an end-of-season race that horses may not run to form and there was a chance to sneak some black type.

“She was definitely going to be in the first three under two furlongs down, but to win was a dream.

“We are dealing with cheap, low grade horses most of the time and she was low grade too at one time. We never have more than about 10 horses but luckily we’ve had horses that have been able to win races this year which makes it enjoyable.

“I’d say she’ll race away. I had it in my head to go to Leopardstown at Christmas for a hurdle race but I don’t know if that will happen now. She has a mark over hurdles that you’d say she might be able to compete off, but we’ll have to sit down and talk with Michael and Mag.”

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