One Voice on cue with Blue Wind victory

Gary Carson
June 21, 2020 6:30 pm

In-form Harrington strikes in Leopardstown Group Three.

One Voice got the better of a thrilling duel with Snow to claim Group Three honours in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Blue Wind Stakes at Leopardstown.

Runner-up on her debut at the same course before going one better there last July, Jessica Harrington’s filly was last seen going down by just a nose to stablemate Silence Please in the Listed Salsabil Stakes at Navan this month.

The daughter of Poet’s Voice was a 16-5 chance to get back on the winning trail on her return to Leopardstown – but it did not look all that likely leaving the back straight, with jockey Shane Foley starting to get to work towards the rear of the field.

However, One Voice began to respond to her rider’s urgings after rounding the home turn and picked up smartly once asked for maximum effort to grab the lead.

Snow made a real race of it heading into the final furlong of the mile-and-a-quarter contest, but Harrington’s charge always appeared to be doing enough and held the Ballydoyle inmate at bay by half a length.

Kate Harrington, assistant to her mother, said: “I think she deserved that after getting touched off by Silence Please the last day.

“She’s a lovely filly. She’s in the Kilboy Estate Stakes (Curragh, July 19), and I’d say that will be her next target.

“She was meant to make the running – and as Shane said, it was plan Z. It worked out today – maybe that’s the way to ride her, and we were doing it wrong.

“Because he said he was going to make the running on her, we actually put a soft rubber bit in her as she has a very light mouth. I’d say going down the back, when she was being keen, he was cursing me for doing that – but it worked out.

“She has a really good attitude, she’s a lovely progressive filly and will keep stepping forward. It’s lovely to get a winner for Craig (Bernick, owner), because that’s the first horse we’ve had for him.”