Who's Steph scoops Group Three honours at Leopardstown

Ger Lyons' runner benefited from a smart ride from Colin Keane, who was firmly in control turning for home, with market leaders I Can Fly and the well-touted Yulong Gold Fairy primed to challenge for Aidan O'Brien and Dermot Weld respectively.

However, while both those fillies gave it their best efforts down the middle of the track, Who's Steph found a little extra under pressure to win by a length and a half.

Lyons will now have to consider the options for his daughter of Zoffany, as she does not hold any Classic entries.

"The second closing of the Irish Guineas was the other day and I said to the lads 'ah, we'll leave it, don't be silly'," said Lyons.

"She did that well and went through the ground, we know she wants it. If it was good ground, we wouldn't have run her because she wants every bit of a mile.

"You'd have to be impressed with her and her temperament is to die for. She does everything I want at home, I'm impressed with her.

"I'm not a fan of buying fillies because unless you get black type, you are stuck with them. When you have them this good, it makes up for all the others.

"We'll go home, sit down and make a plan. The dream is still alive at the moment, but we don't have big early-closing entries with her.

"I'm not a traveller, I love staying at home, so we'll find something here for her and there will be no firm in it.

"There's every chance she could come back here next month, but if a good offer comes in, she'll be sold because she's a filly. This is the first batch of fillies we've ever bought."

He added: "She's named after my daughter Kerri's friend. I used to take the mickey out of her when she was in school and the little girl was coming home with her I'd say 'who is coming home' and she'd say 'Steph' and I'd say 'who's Steph?'. It used to drive them insane!

"So by coincidence we named this horse after her and it turned out to be a good one.

"The horses are well and I'm delighted with them and the ways things are going."