Irish hoop snares breakthrough win in Spring Stakes

Visiting Irish jockey Dylan Browne Mcmonagle has claimed his first Australian feature race win, driving lightly raced filly Snitzanova to a narrow victory in the Group 3 Spring Stakes at Newcastle.

The 21-year-old, who rides primarily for Joseph O’Brien in Europe, made a similar venture to Australia last year, basing himself with Ciaron Maher in Victoria where he rode 11 winners.

This time around, he is dipping his toe into the Sydney scene and has made an immediate impact at his first NSW Saturday metropolitan meeting with victory aboard the Maher-trained Snitzanova.

“He is Joseph O’Brien’s number one jockey. He is very good, very talented and I think he enjoyed his time last year and had a lot of success,” Maher’s assistant trainer Johann Gerard-Dubord said.

“He’s a very hard worker, he’s very talented and it’s good for him to win a stakes race. It is his first win this time back, he’s had a couple of seconds.

“He is a very strong jockey, obviously he had to be today. It was tight.”

Not only did Browne McMonagle show his strength over the concluding stages, he helped Snitzanova ($7) get the narrow decision over runner-up French Ruler ($6.50), ridden by Nash Rawiller, who is renowned as one of the best in the business in a tight finish.

Dame Commander ($11) did best of the rest in third, $2.80 betting site favourite Alabama State finishing fourth.

Snitzanova was having just her third start in the Spring Stakes (1600m) after following a minor placing in midweek grade with a Kensington track win and Gerard-Dubord expected her to continue to improve into her next preparation.

“It’s a big step up to stakes company, but it probably wasn’t the strongest stakes race,” he said.

“Although she had to do it tough – she was wide – Dylan didn’t panic. He kept her where she was comfortable. She is a filly that can travel a bit keenly, but she got into a nice rhythm and she was too tough late, luckily.

“Now she is a stakes winner, I think she will have a break and she will come back much better next prep too.”

Snitzanova not only gave Browne McMonagle his first Sydney metropolitan win, she was also his first Group race winner in Australia, adding to the 20 he has ridden overseas, three of them at the highest level.

“They’re not easy to come across these ones, but I had a willing partner. She was really tough,” Browne McMonagle said.

“It didn’t really go to plan early. She was doing plenty and didn’t get any cover. We weren’t going quick though and she put herself up there, I had to just go with the flow.

“She relaxed good around the bend and came forward well and she was tough up the straight.”

Snitzanova is the fifth filly to win the Spring Stakes since the race was moved from its former September timeslot to be added to The Hunter card six years ago.