Another Stakes Victory For Mutasarref This Season
Six-year-old Mutasarref earned his second Gr.3 victory of the season last night and fourth course success at Leopardstown when the son of Dark Angel held on to win the 1 mile Gr.3 Desmond Stakes by half a length. He raced towards the inside rail in mid-division before being asked to quicken around two furlongs from the finish. He found his way to way to the front and led his rivals with just under a furlong left to travel, holding off the opposition to the line. Trained by Ger Lyons, Mutasarref earned his first black-type victory in August 2022, when he was a three-length winner of Cork’s Listed Platinum Stakes. Last season saw him secure Leopardstown’s Listed Knockaire Stakes, before he recorded success in this year’s Listed Owenstown Stud Stakes and Gr.3Ballycorus Stakes. He finished third in last month’s Gr.2 Minstrel Stakes. Running in the colours of Eleonora Kennedy, yesterday’s contest saw the gelding face opposition from two Ballydoyle charges, namely the Listed-winning Mountain Bear, who finished second, and last year’s Gr.1 Fillies’ Mile victrix Ylang Ylang, who failed to fire and came home seventh. The promising Lord Massusus, who has Gr.3 and Listed wins to his name, passed the post in third, just three quarters of a length behind the winner. Bred by Shadwell, Mutasarref was knocked down to Gaelic Bloodstock for 95,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses in Training Sale of 2021. He is a half-brother to two winners, while his dam Mulkeyya is a half-sister to the Gr.2 Greenlands Stakes victor and Gr.1 Irish 2,000 Guineas-placed sire Mustajeeb.
