One of the success stories of this summer continued at Dundalk on Sunday when the Andy Oliver trained PANAMA HAT rattled off his fifth consecutive win in handicap company, when landing the valuable Irish Stallion Farms EBF ‘Red God’ Handicap. The 3yo’s winning spree kicked off on June 19th when he made all to win a Leopardstown handicap off a rating of 60. Fast forward three weeks and the Team Valor owned gelding had won four races and seen his mark rocket up to 96. Given a short break by Andy Oliver he tackled Sunday’s competitive Dundalk race with what seemed a tough task at hand. Drawn wide, he did not get to the front as early as he had in previous outings but once he got to the lead early in the straight he asserted in fine style under replacement jockey Fran Berry.

Andy Oliver has done a fine job placing the Goffs Orby Yearling Sale graduate and he commented; "That was a fantastic performance, and he's a horse that has surpassed himself. I had a couple of concerns of which the draw was one as he's a horse that likes a strong pace. Fran was a very able substitute and gave him a great ride. When he got to the front he did it well. There are a couple of big handicaps at Leopardstown on Champions weekend, although even with the 3yo allowance he would still probably have top weight. I'll look at where he'll go in consultation with Team Valor.” Wherever he appears next Panama Hat will no doubt have a rating in excess of 100. That represents amazing progression in two months and who knows when that progression will stop. It was a superb weekend for the Barry Irwin led Team Valor as they also landed the Grade 1 Beverley D Stakes with Euro Charlene.