It was a fantastic night for Irish racing at the prestigious Breeders Cup in Kentucky, with victories in the Turf and Mile races.
Trainer Dermot Weld has gone overseas and won big races before; thirty years ago Go and Go claimed the Belmont Stakes, and Weld has twice won the Melbourne Cup, with Vintage Crop in 1993 and Media Puzzle in 2002.
Until yesterday, he had never claimed a Breeders Cup race at all from 16 attempts, but that changed utterly when Irish champion jockey Colin Keane rode filly Tarnawa to victory in the Turf at Keeneland.
Keane was a late replacement for Christophe Soumillon, who had to give up the ride on Tarnawa, having tested positive for COVID 19.
Meath jockey Keane didn't disappoint, timing his run to perfection in the 1 mile 4-furlong test as 3 to 1 chance Tarnawa stormed down the outside to win from the Aidan O'Brien trained Magical.
It's only this year that 4-year-old Tarnawa has come into her own, having landed two Group one races at Longchamp before taking her journey across the Atlantic.
O'Brien's incredible ability to train horses for the big day was illustrated in the Mile, as 40 to 1 outsider Order of Australia led home a 1-2-3 for the Ballydoyle trainer.
Circus Maximus was second, with Lope Y Fernandez finishing third. It was O'Brien's first-ever victory in the Mile.
After finishing fourth in the Irish Derby, Order of Australia was dropping back in trip in the Mile, but jockey Pierre-Charles Boudot didn't have to worry, as the three-year-old showed plenty of pace to prevail in the final furlong.
The victory gave Wexford native O'Brien his 12th race win at a Breeders Cup meeting.
The Breeders Cup Classic on dirt was won by the 9 to 2 shot Authentic, trained by Bob Baffert and ridden by John Velazquez.
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