Bocca Baciata survives scare to win at Gowran Park.
Sunday 24 April 2016 17:34, UK
Colm O'Donoghue was able to breathe a sigh of relief after Bocca Baciata just held off the fast-finishing Discipline in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Victor McCalmont Memorial Stakes at Gowran Park.
Jessica Harrington's four-year-old looked the class act on paper in the Listed contest and despite missing the break she appeared a cut above her rivals for much of the journey.
Having moved through smoothly O'Donoghue swept past Discipline, who had won her only race to date, and went two lengths clear.
With the race in the bag with half a furlong to run, O'Donoghue looked behind him and eased down markedly, at which point Pat Smullen scented the opportunity.
Rousted into action, Dermot Weld's filly was closing down all the way to the line but the 6/4 favourite held on by a rapidly-diminishing head. The pair were six lengths clear of the third, Steip Amach.
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Harrington said: "I'd already looked away, I was on the bottom stand as she was well clear but she did it very easily as she was giving a lot of weight to the other filly, I was delighted with her.
"I thought she was entitled to win today, even giving the weight away.
"She's in a lot of races, I'll talk to everybody and see what they want to do."
