Maristella and Ben Coen (green colours)© Photo Healy Racing
Trainer Johnny Murtagh moved to his best yearly total with a Navan double today as Maristrella (9/4jf) narrowly landed the Irish Stallion Farms EBF (Fillies) Handicap, also providing stable jockey Ben Coen with a double.
The daughter of New Bay gained a last-gasp short-head win, pegging back Prioritise (33/1) at the line, to follow up the pair's earlier nursery success with easy winner Mile End
Murtagh later reported “that's our best ever year - 42 winners. The last couple of weeks we were getting close, so I was hoping that we would do it.”
He added “this filly had a few little niggles through the year. She did well in Galway and got a big penalty (11lbs) and I was going to claim off her, but it is all about black-type with Ballylinch (Stud, owners) and if she was going to be a black-type filly, she had to come and do it today off 84.
"She has just won but probably deserves a shot at black-type. There's not much left although there are fillies' races in Naas and Leopardstown. She likes soft ground and probably wants a mile and a quarter. I'm delighted to win two races with her this year.
"Ben is great and is a great lad."
Quotes from Michael Graham
