Our columnist with six horses for your tracker from the recent action in Ireland.
KATTY - 8th, the Curragh, August 9
In the Curragh maiden won by Push The Boat Out a couple of horses that finished in mid-division caught my eye. KATTY, a daughter of Ghaiyyath, hails from a stable that wouldn’t be known for having two-year-old winners (Adrian Sexton), but she ran well in eighth. She emerged with plenty of credit after travelling quite well behind the leaders, before she was outpaced, showing signs of inexperience, but she really rallied well to good effect inside the final furlong and a half. Given she’s from a family that includes a 10-furlong winner, she’s of definite interest going forward as she goes up in trip.
BENGAL TIGER - 12th, the Curragh, August 9
In the same race, a couple of lengths behind in 12th, was the Aidan O’Brien third string, BENGAL TIGER, at 50/1. He’s a No Nay Never from a middle-distance family and he showed a lot of greenness from stall one on the wing of the field. Detached from the main pack at halfway, it was only inside the last furlong that the penny began to drop and he finished off quite nicely to hit the line strong. With the benefit of that experience under his belt, he’s another to keep on the right side of as he goes out in trip.
CHATTERING CLASSES - 4th, the Curragh, August 9
Another Ghaiyyath filly, CHATTERING CLASSES caught the eye in the following race on the same Curragh card. Jessie Harrington’s two-year-old finished fourth behind the Aidan O’Brien-trained trio in a race where they took no prisoners, but this was a notable debut. She showed signs of inexperience, but gradually worked her way into contention and inside the last furlong the penny began to drop. She finished off in a pleasing manner without being knocked about and her trainer can find a maiden for her over seven furlongs or a mile in the coming weeks.
MAGNUM COR - 4th, Leopardstown, August 6
A more obvious horse to note is MAGNUM COR, trained by Joseph O’Brien, as he was well-supported on debut at Leopardstown on August 6. The son of Sea The Stars was sent off 15/8 for the nine-furlong maiden and while he could only finish fourth he finished off in the style of a horse who will learn plenty from the experience. The strongly-run race just caught him out after a slow start but the way he finished was very encouraging and it wouldn’t be a surprise if he landed the money next time. A half-brother to Lot Of Joy, the winner of a 2m handicap at the Curragh, and Sky Bet Ebor and Irish St Leger winner, Sonnyboyliston, he’s going to be of interest when he goes up to trips in excess of a mile and a half.
ESTRALLITA - 6th, Naas, August 3
ESTRALLITA ran a race full of promise on debut at Naas on Bank Holiday Monday in Ireland for Jack Davison. She ran a highly-commendable sixth in a strongly-run mile maiden, especially from stall 18 after showing inexperience, her finishing effort strong after working her way into the race. She should improve for the experience and a 10-furlong maiden should be well within her range in the coming weeks. Her dam, Fresnel, was a 102-rated mile and a half horse for the same connections and Estrallita shaped liked a filly who has ability and certainly worth following in the short-term.
LIGHT UP THE DARK - 9th, Galway, July 27
Stepping away from maidens and unexposed types I’ll finish with a JP McManus-owned handicapper in LIGHT UP THE DARK. The five-year-old ran ninth in the Connacht Hotel (Q.R.) Handicap at the Galway Festival and it’s a race that is usually a good guide to the big autumn staying handicaps. Have this daughter of Camelot on your radar for those as she was continually denied a run under John Gleeson from stall 21, the jockey electing to ride for luck and he didn’t get any. She finished well, though, and she can make amends in the latter part of the campaign.
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