Leopardstown Sunday preview: What the trainers say

2.25 Al Shira'aa Racing 'Mutamakina' Stakes

One Look can book her ticket for the Irish 1,000 Guineas with victory in the Group Three Al Shira’aa Racing “Mutamakina” Stakes.

Paddy Twomey’s unbeaten filly caused something of a sensation when winning the Goffs Million on her racecourse debut last season, in what was her only juvenile outing.

She reappeared in a small race at Cork in March, winning readily at the prohibitive price of 1-20 but promising to improve for it, with Twomey using that spin as a stepping stone towards bigger targets, the first of which is this weekend.

“She’s in top form and we’re looking forward to Sunday,” said Twomey. “She won well on debut at the Curragh and then she went to Cork at the start of the year and won again – and she’s trained well since.We’re looking forward to running her on a bit of nicer ground this weekend and to getting her out again.

“It was very heavy ground at Cork. It was great to win, but that race was all part of her training programme. That’s done, hopefully we’ve got nice ground on Sunday and away we go. We’re happy with her.”

Twomey also has another potentially top-class filly in his yard in A Lilac Rolla.

“The plan is to send her straight to the Irish Guineas,” he said. When asked if there was much between the two, Twomey replied: “Pass!”

Two fillies taking on One Look this weekend, Aidan O’Brien’s Buttons and the Ger Lyons-trained Wendla, finished behind A Lilac Rolla at Leopardstown last time out.

3.35 Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial

In the Cashel Palace Hotel Derby Trial, a race won by the likes of Sinndar, Galileo, High Chaparral, Alamshar, Yeats and Fame And Glory down the years, O’Brien runs the unbeaten Los Angeles, a Group One winner in France on just his second outing last year.

Taking him on is Bremen, trained by Donnacha O’Brien, who thrived for stepping up to a mile and a quarter at Cork on his return to action.

“The step up in trip really suited him. We were planning on going straight to the Gallinule instead of here, but this looked like cutting up a fair bit, so we put him in,” said the former Classic-winning jockey.

“He’s in good form, the ground should suit him, so we’re hopeful of a good run. He was a late foal, so he’s entitled to progress this year. He’s by Galileo, so we were always hoping that he’d improve for 10 furlongs. He’s a half-brother to Warm Heart and she got a good bit better at three.”

Rest of the action

Donnacha O’Brien is also on a fact-finding mission in the Porsche In Support Of Breast Cancer Ireland Amethyst Stakes with Yosemite Valley.

A Listed winner over seven furlongs last time out, the Prix Maurice de Gheest over six and a half was mooted as a next move, but O’Brien is keen to see how he copes over a mile.

“He was very impressive the last day at the Curragh. We’re going up to a mile here and we’re not sure if he’s going to stay, but we’re going to give it a shot and we can always come back to seven if we need to,” he said.

“He’s in good form, all his work has been good, so we’re looking forward to it. Last time was a Group-level performance, so we’re looking forward to seeing what he can do at this grade. We’re still not 100 per cent sure what his best trip is, he works with a lot of pace but last time he hit the line strong over seven furlongs, indicating he would stay a mile. If he does, then it opens up a lot more options.

“Obviously, there’s a lot of nice races over a mile, but if he does need to drop back down in trip, something like the Minstrel would be an option, so we’re going to learn a bit anyway.”

Real Appeal, Power Under Me and Bold Discovery are others in the Group Three to note.

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