Art Power made it four wins from four starts at the Curragh with another very comfortable victory in the Group 2 Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes.

The Tim Easterby-trained gelding was sent off the 6/5 favourite, despite the fact he was stepping back to five furlongs for only the fourth time in the last three years. There was never really a moment of worry for connections however as he bucked out for David Allan, travelled comfortably on the front end, and came all of four and a quarter lengths clear of the Ado McGuinness-trained Go Athletico in the final furlong.

This was a second Group 2 success for the King Power Racing-owned grey, after he registered his first in the Greenlands Stakes at this course earlier in the season.

The winning rider said: “He loves coming to Ireland. Nobody knows why but he comes to life here.

“Bringing him back to five (furlongs) was the only issue but I’ve always been confident five would be okay for him as long as the ground was soft enough and today was right up his street. It all worked out perfectly.

“The way he was powering up that hill, I was thinking they can’t go fast enough to catch me. He was powering away and I heard the commentator shout we’d come clear so it was great.

“You don’t have to do anything fancy with him, you let him jump out and he runs his race. He has run well in Group 1s in England, but he’s just not got to it yet, but if he gets proper soft ground, there is still time for him, he’s not going anywhere yet.”

Kairyu

Earlier, Michael O’Callaghan’s Kairyu made it two wins from two starts when she took the Group 3 Jebel Ali Racecourse And Stables Anglesey Stakes under Colin Keane.

The daughter of Kuroshio travelled powerfulyl into the the extended six-furlong contest and found a gap between runners inside the two-furlong pole, to come through and take control. She did drift left under pressure but was always holding the favourite Pearls And Rubies.

O’Callaghan, who bought, owns and trains the filly, said: “She looks very smart. Colin said she doesn’t want that ground, it was plenty soft. He feels she has a savage turn of foot, but he said the gaps sort of came too early for him. She went left because she got a bit lonely - that was the only reason for that.

“He feels that she relaxes so well, she’ll have no problem getting seven furlongs. We might look at something like the Lowther for her now.”