THERE were tears galore, of joy and sadness, at the Curragh when the grey Phoenix Of Spain ran out a comprehensive winner of what will likely prove to have been one of the better renewals of the Group 1 Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas.

It was a magical weekend for the winner’s sire Lope De Vega (Shamardal), Ballylinch Stud’s dual classic winning standard-bearer. Just 24 hours after Phoenix Of Spain’s biggest success, his son Zabeel Prince, bred at Roundhill Stud, won the Group 1 Prix d’Ispahan, the six-year-old’s first top-level win, and this brought to nine the number of winners at the highest level sired by the 12-year-old, who stood for €80,000 this season.