Truth Be Told among five handicappers to follow from Irish Champions Festival

Sindagan (Third, Sovereign Path Handicap, Leopardstown Saturday)

Sindagan was last of the 16 runners out of the stalls in the Sovereign Path Handicap at Leopardstown on Saturday, and, while he passed one rival in the interim, he was last again as they straightened up for home and headed for the two-furlong marker.

Wheeled towards the outside at that point by Ben Coen, he stayed on strongly from there, closing all the way to the line and getting the best of a three-way go for third place, just a length behind the winner Krasimir.

The pace was solid without being breakneck. The finishing speeds of the winner and the runner-up were very close to RaceiQ par, and five of the first six horses home occupied five of the first 10 places from flagfall. Sindagan was the only horse who was able to get in among them from the rear, and he wasn’t the beneficiary of a pace collapse. Johnny Murtagh’s horse had to make his ground widest of all and latest of all into a solid pace.

A game winner of his maiden over seven furlongs at the Galway Festival this year, the Mehmas gelding could only finish sixth in the Listed Platinum Stakes at Cork on his next run, when the sedate early pace didn’t seem to suit him at all. He appeared to be much happier on Saturday, held up off a good strong pace and passing horses late on.

The first foal out of Sindhia, a winner over seven furlongs and a half-sister to Sonaiyla, who won the Group 3 Ballyogan Stakes over six furlongs and who finished third in the Flying Five, all Sindagan’s runs to date have been over seven furlongs. But he is talented and he is progressive, and he could improve again for stepping up to a mile.

Truth Be Told (Sixth, Petingo Handicap, Leopardstown Saturday)

The Reverend did well to get as close as he got in the Petingo Handicap, coming from back in the field and from a low draw, and he will be of interest wherever he goes next for sure, but the performance that Truth Be Told put up in finishing sixth was just as worthy of note, and that run seems to have gone at least little under the radar.

The Petingo Handicap is a race in which a high draw has historically been an advantage. The last eight winners, and nine of the last 10 winners, before Saturday were drawn 12 or higher and, in 2025, the first five home were all drawn nine or higher. Sure enough, on Saturday, the first two home were drawn 23 and 21, and The Reverend and Truth Be Told were the only two horses who finished in the first seven who were drawn in single figures.

As well as that, the early pace was not strong, as evidenced by the winner’s finishing speed of over 106% of overall speed, and that was not ideal for Truth Be Told, who was settled towards the rear of the field early on, as is his wont. He stayed towards the inside in the home straight and, still only 16th of the 21 runners passing the two-furlong pole, he stayed on well against the inside rail for Billy Lee. It got a little tight for him over there, but he stuck to his task bravely and got up for sixth place, just two lengths behind the winner Immutable. He was fastest of all through the final three furlongs.

This was another positive performance by Michael Grassick’s horse. Winner of a handicap at Thurles in October last year on his final run for Dermot Weld, the Too Darn Hot gelding did well to win a 10-furlong handicap at Leopardstown in May on his first run for his new trainer, when he came from well back in the field off a sedate pace to win nicely.

He stepped forward from that next time at Ballinrobe in July, when he stayed on well at the end of a mile and five furlongs to take second place behind the well-handicapped War Rooms. This was his first run since then, so there is every chance that he will improve for it. The handicapper left him on his mark of 90 after Saturday’s run, and that is a mark off which he will be of interest in another good handicap. He holds an entry in the Irish Cesarewitch over two miles and, while he has never been beyond one mile and five furlongs, he stays that trip well, and he could improve for going out in trip. You can easily argue the case on pedigree, given that he is out of the Ribblesdale Stakes winner Princess Highway, a sister to Irish St Leger and Long Distance Cup winner Royal Diamond.

Suzie Songs (Fourth, Autumn Fillies’ Handicap, Leopardstown Saturday)

Suzie Songs was slowly away too in the Autumn Fillies’ Handicap and, a free-going type, she was settled by Colin Keane at the back of the field. Second last early on, she still only had three rivals behind her passing the two-furlong marker but, taken to the outside by her rider, she finished off her race well to take fourth place, just over a length behind the winner Rebel Wave.

This was another big-field handicap in which they didn’t go an overly strong pace, and in which Ger Lyons’ filly did well to get as close as she got. She was fastest of all through the final two furlongs, and at no point in the race was she closer to the front than she was at the winning line.

The Moyglare filly continues her upward march. Winner of the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes over six and a half furlongs last year as a juvenile, she showed lots of pace in winning the Listed Platinum Stakes over seven furlongs at Cork on her last run before Saturday, when she picked up smartly off a moderate pace, but she saw out the extended mile well too on Saturday. The first foal out of the Galileo mare Florence Camille, a half-sister to Cheshire Oaks winner Thoughts Of June and winner of her maiden over a mile and a half, the Starspangledbanner filly is obviously versatile in terms of distance, and she will be of interest wherever she goes next.

Thunderbear (Fifth, Bold Lad Handicap, The Curragh Sunday)

There was lots going on in the Bold Lad Handicap, there were a few horses whose performances can be marked up on the bare form of their respective runs, including Red Evolution and Toyotomi, and Coul Angel was impressive in winning, but Thunderbear did well to get as close as he did in the circumstances, and he could do even better now as the ground eases.

Slowly away from his high draw, he was 21st of the 24 runners after they had gone a furlong. Moved towards the far side of the near-side group by Jack Kearney, he was still on the bridle on the run to the two-furlong marker. He had to continue to move to his right in order to get into clear sailing, and he ended up delivering his challenge towards the centre of the track, well away from the stands rail, where the race developed, but he continued to go forward and he stuck to his task well. He finished fifth, but he was beaten just a head, a nose and a short head for second, and the four horses who finished in front of him all raced prominently from early.

It was a fine run by the Kodi Bear gelding on just his second run for Stephen Thorne. Winner of a Group 3 race on heavy ground at Newbury for Jack Davison when he was a three-year-old, he shaped encouragingly on his first run for his new trainer at Navan last weekend, and Sunday’s run was a step forward from that. The handicapper dropped him by another 1lb after Sunday’s run to a mark of 92, which is fully 15lb lower than his peak rating, and that is a really workable mark for him as we move more deeply into the autumn and presumably onto softer ground at some stage.

Manton Bay (Fifth, Northfields Handicap, The Curragh Sunday)

Manton Bay didn’t have a lot of luck through the closing stages of the Northfields Handicap, the contest that brought the curtain down on the weekend.

Slowly away and back worse than mid-division early on, he moved towards the outside early in the home straight, but he didn’t really get a clear run at it until very late in the piece. Rider Luke McAteer had to sit up on him for a few strides on the run to the furlong marker when a gap closed in front of him, costing him ground and energy as well as momentum. He was always in traffic after that, but it was notable that, when he did get into racing room towards the far side deep inside the final furlong, he picked up well and went to the line strongly, finishing a clear fifth, three lengths behind the winner Orandi.

This was probably another step forward by David Marnane’s horse. Winner of a rated race at Killarney in August over a mile, when he left the impression that he had more in hand than the bare half-length winning margin, he ran a big race in the Irish Cambridgeshire next time to finish a clear second behind Andy Slattery’s exciting four-year-old Loughrea.

A half-brother to stayers Whirling Dervish and Gaillefontaine, he shaped that day as if he would appreciate a step back up to 10 furlongs, and he saw his race out well on Sunday over that distance. He is a progressive three-year-old who has the potential to go beyond the rating of 97 off which he raced on Sunday, and he will be of interest wherever he goes next.

www.donnmcclean.com

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