Meeting Review: The Curragh, March 22nd

Positives: An esteemed paddock judge reliably informed me that King Ledley was light years ahead of the remainder on looks in the opener and so too it proved on the track as he bolted away from Chelsea Lately by over 4ls. His breeding is all American so better ground won’t be a problem and he looks the type to pick up another race or two, perhaps even a minor pattern contest, before the Ballydoyle mob unleash their better juveniles. My trends tell me it’s more or less impossible for a prominent racer to win the Lincoln (no winner or runner-up has been on the pace in the past decade) so the performance of Estrela Brage, who was mugged on the line having been up there throughout, has to be upgraded. The fact that his mark of 97 looked stiff (he been well beaten off the same rating last term) suggests he may have improved (wore cheek-pieces for the first time here) in the interim. Apparently he’s due to be sent over hurdles but this may tempt connections into a rethink as the 6yo may yet be able to win on the level. Sioduil was an eye-catcher the Birdcatcher meeting last term when running a screamer from a bad draw but most of her other form is only ordinary; however, the evidence of her run in the Madrid suggests she will be winning races if dropped back in trip. The little grey was right there at the furlong pole but emptied totally on the run to the line and finished only ninth, looking a blatant non-stayer. She’ll do much better back at 6f and the fact her trainer had her entered in the 6f handicap on this card too suggests he too believes the Oasis Dream filly may be a sprinter.

Negatives: Mad About You deserved to be odds-on for the Park Express but in hindsight her SP of 30/100 was pretty silly and she is one to be very wary of after managing only third. Her trainer had been so confident to give her as his best bet at Cheltenham Preview Night four weeks ago and the weight of money that came for her suggested he hadn’t left much to work on. Everything went right for her in the race itself as stable-mate Firey Red (the moral winner of the race who was sacrificed as pace-maker) pulled off the rail over 3 furlongs out to allow her through but despite having travelled supremely well, she never actually put her head in front and looked most unwilling. It’s worrying when a filly that finished placed behind the likes of Zarkava, Halfway To Heaven and Promising Lead does the same behind Oh Goodness Me and Firey Red, and the 4yo is one to leave alone next time, even with the blinkers back on. Another Weld horse with a dubious attitude is Mr Topaz, who despite looking well-in off 82 and being heavily-backed, couldn’t win the Madrid. Pat Smullen had the 3yo in the right place throughout but he ran around when asked to make his challenge and carried his head awkwardly, going down by a neck in the end. He’d done something very similar when winning narrowly at Cork last backend and I expect him to do so again; his placed form behind pattern performers Ryehill Dreamer and Vitruvian Man looks good in handicaps but he doesn’t have the will to win.

Pointers: Having got the Lincoln well and truly wrong I was delighted to see a few people used the trends to pick the winner; I’m not sure how, but well done anyway! In fairness, Pollen was an unexposed 4yo with a decent draw from a yard that won in the race with a similar type in Tolpuddle and the likelihood she would be held up was another plus. Though this looked a weak renewal beforehand, if she goes the way of the other winning 4yos she’ll be competing in pattern races before the season’s end. Some cut in the ground is important to her and she obviously likes it here (track form figures:411); she certainly didn’t impress in her condition beforehand so there may be improvement to come on that front. Jim Bolger is hardly renowned for having his string ready early in the season (just 2 winners from 42 runners in March since 2004) but he had a treble here and this term could well prove an exception to the norm. Eddie Lynam endured a sickener in the Lincoln but his yard has also hit the ground running with form figures over the weekend of:1633052850240, only two of which were returned single-figure prices. The sole winner, Mourinho, is likely to remain well-treated having won off 80 on Friday night and won’t mind stepping up in trip.