McLoughlin lands first stakes win with Duckadilly one-two at Navan

Daniel McLoughlin’s yard did more than land a Listed race at Navan. Duckadilly and Syzygy turned the Darley Irish EBF Kooyonga Stakes into a statement one-two, the kind that suggests Ireland’s youngest trainer is building something real rather than riding a brief hot streak.

Duckadilly beat her stablemate by half a length in the 1m 30y contest on good ground, with the nine-runner race producing a winning time of 1m 42.80s and a first stakes success for the 24-year-old. The €55,000 prize fund meant €32,395 for the winner, and McLoughlin’s pair finished clear enough to make the result look less like luck and more like a stable with two fillies moving in the right direction.

McLoughlin admitted the moment hit hard. “I just froze at the finish,” he said, calling it “magical” after Duckadilly delivered his first black-type winner. He added that the filly had been taken back from a sale last year because the yard was not getting the price it wanted, and that the plan then was to win a stakes race and possibly send her back through the ring. For now, though, she has earned a different kind of value.

That matters because McLoughlin is still early in the climb. He got off the mark with his first winner in May 2024, sent out seven winners in 2025 and had been set for his first Classic runner only two weeks earlier, when Magny Cours was due to line up in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. This was the next rung up the ladder, and he took it with a Listed one-two that underlines stable depth as much as individual ability.

The race itself unfolded in a way that suited both of his runners. Fast Tara controlled the early pace before fading, and Duckadilly showed the better turn of foot when it mattered, grinding through the final furlong to hold Syzygy. The runner-up was not flattered by the margin either, finishing strongly from off the pace to give McLoughlin a 1-2 that will do more for his reputation than a single flashy winner ever could.

If there is a filly from the race who now looks ready to stretch higher, it is Duckadilly. She handled the pressure, delivered the result and did it in black-type company. Syzygy’s late finish says she is worth watching too, but McLoughlin’s first stakes winner is the one that now looks ready to take the next step.