Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
Three points of interest
Drop in trip to suit Currawood
Currawood is enjoying a fine campaign and on Timeform's figures he produced just about his best effort yet - and a smart one at that - when making the talented Green Impact dig deep in the listed Glencairn Stakes at Leopardstown this month.
That nine-furlong contest was the progressive Currawood's first attempt at beyond a mile, but he seemed to take his form up another notch in spite of the trip, rather than because of it.
Currawood travelled well and looked likely to come out on top when briefly moving upsides inside the final furlong, but he was essentially outstayed by the winner who found plenty and had his measure close home. Currawood's chance wasn't helped by his rider putting up 2 lb overweight, but Timeform's reporter noted that "the 1f longer trip was probably a bigger factor in this defeat than the fact his rider put up 2 lb overweight".
He should appreciate the return to a mile in the listed Celebration Stakes (14:55) at the Curragh and he narrowly heads Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings. He also has the Horses For Courses Flag having shown his effectiveness at the Curragh when runner-up to the unexposed Officer in a listed race over the same course and distance he tackles on Sunday.
Stronger pace can provide a platform for Dance Night Andday
Dance Night Andday tends to be ridden patiently, so her chance can often be dependent on the race being run at a sound tempo. However, that hasn't been the case on either start this year, and she was unable to make a telling impact on her return in handicap company at Cork or in a listed race at Naas last time.
Her effort at Cork, where she was beaten less than two lengths in fourth, was still a good one on ratings, though, and was right up there with her best performances on Timeform's figures.
In addition to being further back than ideal in a steadily-run race that developed into a dash, Dance Night Andday was also inconvenienced by meeting some trouble in running inside the final couple of furlongs, but she showed enough to suggest she'll be of interest when a race develops more favourably.
Timeform's pace comment for the seven-furlong fillies' handicap (17:20) at the Curragh on Sunday suggests a strong gallop is likely, so Dance Night Andday looks interesting off a mark 3 lb lower than at Cork. It's also worth noting that champion jockey Colin Keane, who takes over in the saddle, has been aboard for three of her four wins.
Synergism another progressive handicapper for Prescott
Sir Mark Prescott has enjoyed a good deal of success with his Flat handicappers at Ffos Las since the course opened in 2009, with the Newmarket-based trainer enjoying ten winners from 27 representatives at a highly impressive strike rate of 37%.
Prescott sends one runner on the long trip to west Wales on Sunday, the progressive Synergism who contests the mile-and-three-quarter handicap (16:00).
Synergism looked the type to rack up a sequence when making a successful handicap debut on his reappearance at Wolverhampton in April, but he came up just short on his next couple of outings at Catterick and Lingfield.
He still showed progressive form on Timeform's ratings, though, and confirmed the view that he's a young stayer going in the right direction when winning at Sandown a couple of weeks ago. He did well to prevail there as he was held up in a race run at a steady tempo, but he found plenty to get on top inside the final half-furlong, leaving the impression that he would have been a more emphatic winner in a more evenly-run contest. The sectional times back up that impression and Synergism still has the Timeform 'small p' to show further improvement is expected.
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