Refuse to Bend Returns to Win Desmond Stakes

Moyglare Stud Farm's Refuse to Bend, winner of the 2,000 Guineas (Ire-I)and a possible starter in the Breeders' Cup Mile, returned from a summer break with a romping three-length victory in the one-mile Desmond Stakes (Ire-III) at Leopardstown Sunday.

Winning trainer Dermot Weld said afterward that the Breeders' Cup Mile (Gr. IT) at Santa Anita is the ultimate goal for Refuse to Bend, a son of Sadler's Wells.

Weld and jockey Pat Smullen teamed to win three races on the day, including a comeback win for Vinnie Roe in the Ballyroan Stakes.

Weld and Smullen returned to Dublin on Sunday morning after Evolving Tactics finished sixth in the Secretariat Stakes (gr. I) at Arlington Park on Saturday.

Refuse to Bend, the 8-11 favorite in the field of seven raced in second, taking the lead from Military Option a quarter-mile from home and pulling away quickly from Latino Magic in the final furlong. Middlemarch was two lengths farther back in third.

Vinnie Roe won the 12-furlong Ballyroan at odds of 4-5 for the second year in a row. The 5-year-old, making his seasonal debut, was a head better than Carpanatto.