THE English challenge took the lions share of the £100,000 prize money on offer for the Goffs Challenge at the Curragh last night when Richard Hannon's well backed favourite, Tadwiga, beat Gay Kellaway's Soft Touch by two lengths with Prospectus best of the home team in third.
Pat Eddery flew in his private plane from Newmarket - where he rode in the first three races - to Weston Airport in Lucan, Co Dublin to take the mount on Tadwiga and the champion jockey never had an anxious moment after the favourite (backed from 5 to 2 to 7 to 4) took it up inside the two furlong marker.
"Pat's a worker, a real pro' and we didn't have to ask him twice to come over," said Hannon. The percentage from the £59,000 first prize made it a worthwhile journey for Eddery and this may not be the end of Tadwiga's prestige hunting.
"I think she deserves to have a crack at something half decent now, Hannon, whose Wiltshire yard has been going through a quiet spell lately, said. But this is a great way to break your maiden. In England she would have been racing for £3,500."
Jim Bolger brought his number of winners for this season to 28 with a double. Oumaladia made all the running under Jamie Spencer to win the opening Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap and give her young rider his ninth victory of the year, while Basanta landed a tidy gamble on her seasonal debut when coming out best of the four 5 to joint favourites in the Silken Thomas Handicap.
Vivo confirmed his remarkable rehabilitation with a brave victory over The Bower in the £20,000 Chapmans Volvo Handicap.
After a successful juvenile career Vivo developed a cancerous growth on a hind leg and was almost put down twice such was the seriousness of his illness. He returned to the track at Cork with an easy win and defied the penalty for that impressively.
"He's made a remarkable recovery. He was slightly tricky as a colt but since he's been gelded he has turned into a nice horse. The 10lb penalty for Mallow almost got him and although the handicapper looks to have him now, we'll go for the Golden Pages at Leopardstown next, said trainer John Oxx.
Vivo drifted to his right in the closing stages and interfered with Eternal Joy who looked beaten at the time and the stewards took no act icon.
