Voleuse De Coeurs earns Weld a seventh Irish St Leger

Voleuse De Coeurs, trained by Dermot Weld and ridden by Chris Hayes, easily won the Gain Irish St Leger at the Curragh.

The Lady O’Reilly-owned filly hacked up under her talented pilot to take the Group One over a mile and three-quarters in impressive fashion.

Ahzeemah, the 7 to 2 favourite, finished second, while Saddler’s Rock was third.

Royal Diamond, who won the race last year, attempted to make most of the running, but he was swamped inside the final three furlongs.

Hayes swiftly picked up the baton two furlongs from home and shot clear on the far rail.

Ernest Hemingway fleetingly gave chase, but he was soon worried out of the equation.

And while Godolphin’s Ahzeemah at least attempted to give Voleuse De Coeurs something to think about, he was some six lengths in arrears at the line.

Weld, who was winning the Irish St Leger a seventh time, said: “She ran a good race here in the Trial, and I knew she’d improve from that.

“I’ll have to talk to Lady O’Reilly about whether she will be retired for the year but I will certainly advise to keep her in training as a five-year-old. She will definitely make a Cup mare next year.

“Today was the day we really trained her for. She is a very straightforward filly, and a model of consistency.

“She won the Cesarewitch here last year and stays very well. The plan was to make use of her stamina.”