Horses to follow: Fran Berry with three for My Stable from Ireland
By Fran Berry
09:27 · THU May 23, 2024
Our man has three more recent eyecatchers to put in your My Stable tracker - including a gelding declared at the Curragh on Friday evening.
The Bellinter Handicap at Navan on Saturday looked a competitive race beforehand, attracting a number of horses who can compete in top Irish sprint handicaps this season. It went the way of Amazon Lady but Blanc De Noir on his debut for the Johnny Murtagh stable is the one I’ll be following.
A winner at big-field event at the Curragh last June for Jessica Harrington, he was bought by new connections for 40,000 guineas and following a gelding operation was having his first start for 325 days.
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He looked like it would do him the world of good in the parade ring beforehand but having been slowly away, he finished off nicely into fifth, beaten just four-and-a-half lengths.
It was a very encouraging start, especially over a trip that looked on the sharp side. It’s interesting to see he’s declared for a seven furlong handicap at the Curragh on Friday, with Ben Coen taking over in the saddle, and he should be winning races for his new team before long.
She attracted plenty of market support and having travelled well in behind the main protagonists through the early stages, found herself trapped in a pocket from three furlongs out. In a race win which the winner Serialise made all, she was full of running when catching a heel and stumbling inside the final quarter of a mile.
She only saw daylight in the final 100 yards and stayed on under a hands and heels ride to finish fourth. She’s very much one to note off the back of that debut, a race in which nothing went her way.
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The finish of the JTW Distribution Roscommon Maiden at Roscommon on Monday evening was fought out between two experienced rivals in Total Look and It’sonlyjustbegun who had both previously shown a decent level of form.
However it was the run of debutant Wootonpassit in third that took my eye. He shaped like a future winner, travelling well throughout before understandably showing signs of inexperience down the home straight.
He wasn’t knocked about by Ronan Whelan and was only three lengths off the winner. He looks one who is very much going to improve for the experience and should be hard to beat in a similar race over ten furlongs next time. He’s an interesting recruit to Martin Brasill’s small but select Flat summer team.
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