Fascinating Rocks to G1 victory for Fastnet

Fastnet Rock’s fabulous season in Europe got even better at the Curragh on Sunday when Newtown Anner Stud’s home-bred Fascinating Rock (5h Fastnet Rock-Miss Polaris, by Polar Falcon) claimed the G1 Tattersalls Gold Cup. The five-year-old, winner of Ascot’s G1 Qipco Champion Stakes in October, pulled clear in the final stages to beat Found (4f Galileo-Red Evie, by Intikhab) by three and three-quarter lengths under Pat Smullen. “It's a race I love to win as it's an excellent Group 1 and it always takes a very good horse to win it. I've been fortunate to win it with a few very good horses in the past and he's as good as any of them,” said winning trainer Dermot Weld. “I'll speak to the owner but he might have the summer off now and we'll look to train him for the G1 Irish Champion Stakes and the G1 Prix de l’Arc de Triomphe. His next race will most likely be the Royal Whip as a prep for the Irish Champion Stakes. “He has all the class to win an Arc and has won a Group race over a mile-and-a-half at Leopardstown so gets the trip well. “He's a big horse and takes a run no matter what you do with him. Last year we took him to Windsor and he came back and won at Leopardstown - it's hard to get him 100 pe rcent first time out. Today was an excellent renewal of the race and Found is an outstanding mare.”