Gardens claims G3 for Mastercraftsman

Iveagh Gardens (4f Mastercraftsman-Woodland Chant, by War Chant) swooped decisively to capture the G3 Canford Cliffs EBF Athasi Stakes in decisive fashion at the Curragh on Monday to bring more Group race glory for Mastercraftsman.

J P McManus’s filly, bred by Anthony Gannon, showed improvement on the rain-softened ground to score comfortably by two lengths from Found (3f Galileo-Red Evie, by Intikhab).

"That Group 3 is on her CV now, and it makes a big difference to a filly,” said winning trainer Charles O’Brien. “She doesn’t just handle that ground, she enjoys it. What she does now will obviously depend on the ground but she could travel again.”

Runner-up Found will head to the G1 Irish 1,000 Guineas and her trainer Aidan O’Brien said: "I'm very happy with that, and she just got tired on the bad ground. We needed to run her before the Irish 1,000 Guineas, and that is where she will go now.”