David O'Meara is looking ahead to Saturday's Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes as he takes aim at Oaks winner Thundering On with his stable star Estrange.
The five-year-old Estrange, a popular horse in recent years for owners Cheveley Park Stud, has yet to strike gold at the highest level but has won three times at Group level including when making a successful start to the current campaign at Carlisle on May 30.
O'Meara reports the grey to be in fine form and expects her to put up a bold show backing back to 10 furlongs for the first time since winning a Listed event at Doncaster in November 2024.
Speaking on the Monday edition of the Nick Luck Daily Podcast, O'Meara said: "She ran around Carlisle over a mile, three (furlongs), and Danny (Tudhope, jockey) thinks that she'll be well suited coming back a furlong so from there we started to think maybe we should be going to Ireland.
"She worked this morning and worked nicely, we're very happy with her. It's the plan to go to the Curragh, she's in good order."
Asked whether the prospect of drying ground could become a concern for Estrange, the trainer replied: "A little bit. I think they had a lot of rain there late last week, I think Thursday or Friday, and they were calling the ground yielding to soft. I guess it's going to be a dry week but there might be bits and pieces of rain in the forecast, maybe showers."
Last year's Pretty Polly was won by the three-year-old Oaks runner-up Whirl and it was a first success for the Classic generation since Iridessa in 2019.
This term the betting is likely to be headed by impressive Epsom winner Thundering On, trained by the irrepressible Joseph O'Brien who enjoyed five winners at last week's Royal Ascot meeting.
"It'll be tough, won't it?" admitted O'Meara. "She (Thundering On) has to come back in trip, probably running on quicker ground than she did at Epsom as well, but she'll be a tough filly to beat."
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