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.
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.