Halfway to Heaven gives double joy

THERE'S an embarrassment of riches, then there's the awesome equine firepower Aidan O'Brien has at his disposal.

While most trainers would be doing cartwheels at having one horse good enough to run in a Classic, the master of Ballydoyle had a handful he thought worthy of a place in yesterday's Irish 1000 Guineas.

Four of them didn't cut the mustard but Halfway To Heaven proved more than equal to the task as the Michael Tabor-owned filly clung on in a desperate finish to give the O'Brien camp back-to-back big race victories following Henrythenavigator's success in the colts' equivalent at the Curragh 24 hours earlier.

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The betting may have suggested Seamus Heffernan's mount was the yard's second string behind the Johnny Murtagh-ridden Kitty Matcham, but the market got it wrong. Not for the first time.

Having taken up the running a couple of furlongs from home, Heffernan drove his willing partner all the way to the line, and by the time the lollypop was reached, she just held on from 66-1 shot Tuscan Evening. Anyone who took those big odds each-way on the 'second' wasn't celebrating for long however as the stewards later relegated her to fourth place for causing interference to Carribean Sunset in the closing stages of the race.

The Dermot Weld-trained latter was subsequently awarded third place with stablemate Mad About You promoted to runner-up, although Tuscan Evening's handler John Murphy later confirmed he would be appealing the decision.

"Seamus gave her a great ride and was very positive. She's a hardy filly," said O'Brien who had earlier landed the Group 2 Tattersalls Gold cup with Duke Of Marmalade. "The Guineas was an evenly-run race which should have suited everyone, and she does get the mile well but I'm not sure if she would get further."

Given O'Brien's reservations about his filly's stamina, it was no surprise to see Ladbrokes remove her from the Oaks betting, a similar fate befalling Kitty Matcham and Mad About You.

Having looked so unlucky in running last time out at Newmarket, Mick Channon's Nahoodh was a huge disappointment, and those whose money helped send her off as 3-1 favourite would have given up the ghost a fair way from home.

"She just didn't finish it off," admitted Channon. "She came there well and I am disappointed by the outcome so we are now back to the drawing board."

As for Henrythenavigator, the now dual Classic hero is as short as 7-2 for the Derby, but where he goes next is unlikely to be decided for a while yet.

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"He's perfect and seemed fine this morning but this will be the week we sort out the Derby horses, although Kingdom of Naples won't be one of them," added O'Brien. "We've had to back off with him and he'll be back in the autumn."

Henrythenavigator's owner John Magnier also confirmed a few heads would have to come together before a final yay or nay is given to his colt's participation in the Blue Riband. "Ultimately, it'll be John Halley (vet), Aidan, Johnny Murtagh and all the lads who'll get together," said Magnier.

"They'll give me their opinions and we'll see after that. I don't decide, but if you ask me what I'd like to do, I'd say Epsom is where everything is decided.

"When the horse was bred, he was bred to go there, he's by Kingmambo out of a Sadler's Wells mare. We've taken horses to Epsom before who shouldn't have gone there and they've run well, but we've also taken horses there we thought would run well and they haven't. I'm not ruling the Derby out, but I wouldn't go and tell someone to back him either."

All of which would seem to leave the Derby picture, which has hardly been crystal clear in the run-up to the race in a fortnight's time, as murky as ever.