Aidan O’Brien’s Drumroll was the beneficiary of a stewards’ inquiry at the Curragh on Sunday as he claimed the Heider Family Stables Gallinule Stakes.
The son of Deep Impact is a full-brother to Ballydoyle’s former 2000 Guineas hero Saxon Warrior and was upped to 10 furlongs in this Group Three contest having chased home Saturday’s Irish 2,000 Guineas winner Paddington on his previous start.
Ridden by Ryan Moore, he was tracking the pace set by Jim Bolger’s Cork scorer Young Ireland and first past the post Teutates in the early stages, and it was Donnacha O’Brien’s charge and the 4-5 favourite who emerged as the main players as the race entered the business end.
Having found top gear, Drumroll began to wear down his chief rival but was met with still opposition as Teutates refused to lie down in the hands of Gavin Ryan.
But the head-on viewing showed that Drumroll was bumped not once but twice in the closing stages and although Teutates prevailed by a short head, the 22-1 outsider of the field was demoted to second following an inquiry, with Drumroll awarded top spot.
Drumroll could now find himself on O’Brien’s Irish Derby teamsheet.
O’Brien said: “He’s progressing and a mile and a quarter looks a good trip for him. The Irish Derby is a possibility.
“He’s still a bit of a baby and ran a bit green.”
Meanwhile the younger O’Brien was proud of Teutates efforts and will now look at a Royal Ascot handicap for his Churchill colt.
He said: “He’s run a cracker. We always thought he was a stakes horse and works like that at home. To be honest I ran him in this to get him into one of the handicaps in Ascot as he had to go up a few pounds.
“As you can see there he can run around a little bit so he’s a hard horse to win with. I thought it would be easier to get him up in the weights by running in a stakes race rather than winning a handicap with him.
“He’s better on that kind of surface.”