Tony McFadden provides an overview of the key things to note on Sunday.
Diamond Necklace likely to make significant improvement
The Timeform Large P is reserved for those deemed capable of much better form and Diamond Necklace has been identified as one such big improver following a highly promising start to her career.
Diamond Necklace, a €1.7 million half-sister to top-level winners Magic Wand and Chicquita, proved strong in the finish when making a winning start at the Curragh and it was a similar story at Leopardstown last time
Strongly supported despite stepping up in class into listed company, Diamond Necklace still had plenty of ground to make up entering the straight, but she picked up powerfully to lead inside the final half-furlong and drew away to win by two and a quarter lengths.
The sectional times suggest that Diamond Necklace deserves to have her performance upgraded having come from much further back than the placed pair, and she was awarded the Horse In Focus Flag by Timeform's reporter who commented that she "maintained her unbeaten record with a good deal more in hand than the winning margin would imply". The way Diamond Necklace has been finishing off her races indicates that the step up to a mile in the Prix Marcel Boussac (12:40) at Longchamp on Sunday will help her make the anticipated improvement.
Paddy Twomey trainer form points to another bold bid from Deepone
Paddy Twomey has enjoyed a remarkably successful year and is operating at a strike rate of 29.1%, placing him second behind only Charlie Appleby on that metric among trainers who have had at least 50 Flat runners in 2025. As a further sign of the stable's good health, Twomey leads the way when measuring by percentage of rivals beaten, registering an impressive figure of 71.7%.
Twomey, who has Timeform's Hot Trainer Flag to highlight the yard's good form, is involved on Arc day with One Look, who contests the Prix de l'Opera, but he has a stronger contender at Tipperary with Deepone who heads Timeform's weight-adjusted ratings by 2 lb in the listed Concorde Stakes (14:43) over seven and a half furlongs.
Deepone takes a marked drop in trip having competed around a mile and a quarter on both starts this season, but he at least proved his wellbeing when third in the International Stakes at the Curragh last time. He's been off for 99 days since then, but Twomey's strike rate remains high with horses returning after a break. Since the start of 2020, Twomey is operating at a 30.8% strike rate with horses in Britain or Ireland who had been off for at least 90 days, and backing each of those runners would have produced a profit of £31.76 to £1 level stakes.
Downmexicoway a much better chaser than hurdler
Downmexicoway showed only fairly useful form over hurdles, and he struggled on all three starts after landing a maiden at Downpatrick last December. However, he immediately proved himself a much better chaser than hurdler when impressively scoring over fences at Killarney in August, improving his Timeform rating in the region of a stone.
Downmexicoway, a winner on his only start in points, jumped soundly at Killarney and looked a good prospect as he readily drew eight and a half lengths clear after leading on the approach to the second last.
The style of that performance earned Downmexicoway Timeform's Horse In Focus Flag, while he also has the Timeform 'small p' to show that further improvement is expected after making such a promising start over fences. He takes a step up in class in the Grade 3 novice chase (17:00) at Tipperary on Sunday and looks up to the task.
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