Excuse found for Magic Wand Irish Oaks flop
Magic Wand could have had a legitimate excuse for a disappointing effort in the Darley Irish Oaks at the Curragh on Saturday.
Trainer Aidan O'Brien revealed that the filly, who was sent off the 10-11 favourite following her impressive victory in the Ribblesdale Stakes, was found to be under the weather after finishing fifth to Sea Of Class under Ryan Moore.
"They seem to be fine. Ryan's filly (Magic Wand) had a little bit of a dirty nose when she came back, so maybe that was a below-par run," said O'Brien.
"She was a little bit disappointing and maybe there was a little thing on her. All her scopes and bloods were perfect all the way up to the race, but maybe she just ran a little bit below herself."
However, O'Brien was pleased with the performance of Forever Together, who was only beaten a neck by the winner when ridden by his son, Donnacha.
"Donnacha's filly seemed fine. She's a filly that seems to stay very well," said the Ballydoyle handler. "I don't think she needs soft ground, but probably in soft ground stamina comes into it more. The winner obviously did very well to win the way she did and to come from where she did.
"We were very afraid of her because she beat our filly Athena in Newbury and we like Athena."
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