Tahiyra justifies favouritism to claim Classic glory at the Curragh

Not many would have blamed Chris Hayes for the narrow defeat of Tahiyra by Mawj in the Qipco 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket earlier this month, but the rider certainly seemed to think he was on a mission of redemption in the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas.

It was mission accomplished as the daughter of Siyouni overcame some traffic difficulties to give Hayes his fifth Irish Classic success and back-to-back wins in this race after the victory of Homeless Songs last year. For trainer Dermot Weld, it was also a sixth win in the race and a 21st Irish Classic success.

“I took the Newmarket defeat badly,” admitted Hayes, adding: “Racing was called off the next day and I was glad!

"I looked at the betting yesterday and she was 1-2. Never in my wildest dreams did I imagine I would ever ride such a short-priced favourite in a Guineas, and if it didn't happen, I was never going to get a bounce of a ball like this again.”

Hayes' worst fears could have been realised. Tahiyra was locked away from her inside draw and the pace was steady, but the filly managed to manoeuvre her way through a small gap and picked up inside the last furlong to reinforce her superiority over runner-up Meditate, who had finished behind her at Newmarket as well as in last September's Moyglare Stud Stakes. A further head away in third was 150-1 shot Comhra under Rory Cleary, while the winner's stable companion Tarawa enjoyed no luck in running in fourth.

Hayes said: “I was worried about the draw. I didn't know how I was going to play it. In fairness to the boss and to all of the Aga Khan's team, they didn't open their mouths about it until I got into the paddock and they asked me what I was going to do. That took a lot of the pressure off. If they went steady I was going to try to ride her close to the pace.

"The gap was tight when I went for it. She's not very big but she's all heart. I played the race in my head a million times since declaration and when I saw she was drawn [in stall] one, I said 'how am I going to do this?'. But I had so much confidence in this filly.”

Chris Hayes hugs Dean Sinnott following Tahiyra's victoryCredit: Patrick McCann

Weld may well be down on numbers and indeed winners over the last couple of years, but his handling of this filly shows that he has not forgotten how to do it at the highest level.

He said: “When you have a very good horse they always have pace and she was good enough to get herself out of the pocket. She has always been very special and we have a lot to look forward to. We have to see how she comes out of the race, but we will look at the Coronation Stakes. It's only the fourth run of her life. She did it very well and very impressively.

“The plan was to hold on to her and ride her for speed. My main concern was whether she would let herself down on the very quick ground, but they have done a fine job watering the track. She has handled it. I was a bit concerned about the draw, especially if there was a slow pace.

"The concern was being boxed in with nowhere to go, but the advantage of riding a horse with speed is that they can get you out of trouble and quickly. Tarawa also ran an excellent race. She's still a very immature filly and one who will progress.”

Once again Meditate came up short in taking on Tahiyra, and while the quicker ground here narrowed the gap between the two, it was not enough to turn the tables. However, Aidan O'Brien is already looking forward to a fourth meeting with the Weld filly at Royal Ascot next month.

He said: “She ran a stormer. We'll have a look at the Coronation Stakes now around a bend. She has plenty of speed, the stiff mile might just have tested her and Ascot could suit.”

The revelation of the race was third home Comhra, although she had finished just over a length off Meditate in a Group 3 at Naas just over a year previously, and trainer Jim Bolger remembered it too.

He said: “She was only a length off Meditate over six last year, and I thought to myself that we would at least get another chance against her some day, and if she'd not been leaned on most of the way we would have been second today.

"She'll go for the Coronation Stakes now and I would say she'll get a bit further – she wasn't stopping.”

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