The Lindsay Park team have had plenty of success over the years with fillies carrying the Coolmore colours that include Group I winners Personal and Irish Lights, the combination featuring at Ipswich on Saturday when the Ben and JD Hayes trained mare Lady of Honour won the $200,000 Listed Eye Liner Stakes (1350m).
A stakes-winner at three, the daughter of No Nay Never (USA) was placed in Group races several times last spring and was overdue for another Black Type success.
She did best in a tight finish to snatch a head win with Andrew Mallyon in the saddle taking her overall record to five wins and five placings from 15 starts with prizemoney in excess of $521,000.
"It's a great thrill to ride a winner for Ben and JD. They were still kids when I was a stable apprentice for their David a long time ago. I actually rode their first winner as a partnership, so we've got a bit of history together and it's great to repay their faith in me,” Mallyon said.
"They tinkered with the gear and she switched off lovely. I thought we'd be hard to beat with the light weight, I wanted to make sure we had our revs up so I probably went a touch early, but she was still too good."
Stable representative Sarah Fannin was thrilled with the win and rides Lady of Honour in all her work.
"It feels fantastic. She's done so well the whole time she's been up here. It's great for the stable and also great for Coolmore as well to get some black type with her,” she said.
"She's a lovely big mare, she's been with us from the start. I ride her in work so it's obviously an extra special win for me personally."
Lady of Honour was a $175,000 Magic Millions purchase from the Coolmore draft for US investor Justin Casse, who shares in her ownership with Coolmore and Paul Shanahan.
Foaled and raised at Coolmore, Lady of Honour returned to be broken in an educated before heading to Lindsay Park. She is the best of two winners from Fastnet Rock mare Majesty, a daughter of Irish Group III winner Kincara Palace.
Majesty was on-sold by Coolmore in an Inglis Digital Sale in 2020 for $32,500 and is now with Mike O’Donnell at Fairhill Farm. They sold her yearling colt by Too Darn Hot (GB) as a weanling for $320,000 and then he made $500,000 at the Magic Millions this year when offered by Segenhoe and bought by McKeever Bloodstock / Lindsay Park Racing / Watership Down.
Majesty is in foal to So You Think after losing a foal by Farnan.
Lady of Honour is one of 50 stakes-winners for No Nay Never, who shuttled to Coolmore in Australia for four seasons and stands in Ireland at a fee of €175,000.
