Meeting Review: Curragh Derby Weekend

Positives: With all 3 of her siblings being pattern winners, Shimah is bred in the purple and she lived up to the family tradition when spread-eagling her field in the Saoire Stakes. There’s every chance the Storm Cat filly is a pure 2yo speedster, and she certainly won’t want to go further than sprint trips, but she’s a serious juvenile and will take plenty of beating in the Phoenix Stakes over the same course and distance in late July – and that includes whatever Aidan O’Brien runs! Con Collins was always keen to plot one up for a handicap at this meeting, and his daughter Tracey has proved no different in sending out Lady Schmuck [WON 11/2 - Tipperary, 7/8/08] to land a decent 5f handicap off 69. Given that Michael Hussey had the unusual luxury in a race of this nature of taking a peak over his shoulder a furlong down, a hike of 9lbs to 78 is hardly going to stop her and she will be a leading player in this year’s Rockingham on July 12th. Headford View [WON 11/2 - Dundalk, 30/8/08] [WON 4/1 - Dundalk, 15/9/08] [WON 7/2 - Dundalk, 7/11/08] was a fair fourth in the 50-80 handicap over 7f and is consistent in her grade – she can win a little race on faster ground than prevailed over the weekend. With a Killarney formline that tied in with 3 subsequent winners (Tiffany Diamond now rated 100, Polka Dot now rated 66 and Jumbo Rio now rated 82), Ballygologue looked well-treated off 80 in the 3yo 10f handicap. In the end it was the drop in trip that caught the Stack filly out as she was beaten a length and a quarter and never nearer. She looks a surefire winner back over 1m4f plus. As is often the case, College Scholar struggled as a 3yo sprinter when trained by Mick Channon last term but he looks to have got a new lease of life with Liam McAteer. The 4yo ran a big race when sixth in the Scurry and has dropped to a career-low mark of 77, having been rated as high as 92 when a three-time winner as a juvenile in England. His trainer does well with this sort of cast-off and his mark will allow him to be placed to good effect in lesser company.

Negatives: Timari must be working the house down at Curraghbeg as he’s been sent off at 3/1 or shorter in each of his 4 starts to date but he yet to get within a length of winning. He had excuses as his rider dropped his whip in the closing stages of the 10f maiden but whether through lack of ability or attitude, he’s one to swerve. Jim Bolger’s aggressive approach to placing his horses suits some of his inmates (see Approach, New) but not even his staunchest supporters would say his decision to run Finsceal Beo in the Pretty Polly saw the horse to best effect. I’ve always felt that the filly was a horse that needed time between races; she’s the type who gives you everything when she hits the front and generally shows the full range of her superiority over her rivals – her wins in the Boussac and Newmarket Guineas are evidence of this. As such, she takes a lot out of herself and doesn’t want a number of quick races in succession and the way her form tailed off after 3 races in 21 days last May lends support to this theory. Bolger seemed to have her back to her best when an excellent second to Duke Of Marmalade in the Tattersalls Gold Cup and she followed that up with a good run in the Queen Anne where she had looked slightly unlucky. Running her just 11 days after Ascot on ground that doesn’t suit and over a trip that stretches her stamina was hardly the wisest move and I fear she may been done for the season unless she gets a long break before her next outing. Contest is another horse who may struggle to rediscover his early season form for the second year in a row – he was well punted from a morning prices of 14/1 into 6/1 on course in the Sapphire Stakes but ran a flat race, beating just one rival home. He may simply be an early season type.

Pointers: Anna Pavlova [WON Haydock, 5/7 - 5/2] probably isn’t Group 1 class but her third-placed run in the Pretty Polly brought her form figures with cut in the ground to:2111212113; she can win again on a soft surface when slightly dropped in grade. Settigano is another who likes to get his toe in and the 5yo produced an excellent weight-carrying performance to win the mile premier handicap. His record with cut now reads:32351225211 and has been a fine advert for his talented trainer – a step up to listed class beckons. Rock Moss became the twelfth 3yo winner of the Scurry in 15 years and there is certainly a case for following the younger runners blind in this race. He also supplied Jim Bolger with his fourth winner in the race since 2001 while Miss Gorica became the fifth Joanna Morgan-trained runner (from a total of six horses) to place here in recent times. Queen Althea [WON Dundalk, 12/7/08 - 11/2] looked an interesting runner in 2m handicap as a 6lb hike for her last win in a competitive race looked lenient. However, not for the first time, she may not have enjoyed going right-handed and since her first career win (her early figures are disregarded as she was ‘finding her feet at the time) at Killarney last September, her form figures going clockwise read:14750, with the sole win coming off 52 in a Roscommon handicap – she’s now rated 75 so was a complete blot on that occasion. Conversely, her figures on left-handed tracks since she found her feet are:11211 with the only defeat against the progressive Rocky’s Choice who completed a three-timer in that win. It would be no surprise to see her bounce back at a left-handed course.