Conquest can conquer
Lightly raced by Dermot Weld, one suspects the best is yet to come from the son of Hernando, who was placed in both the English and Irish Derbys last season.
The four-year-old was hugely impressive on his latest appearance, slamming stable companion, Famous Name, by five lengths in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup at the Curragh. Famous Name has since won twice.
Beach Bunny, who has a pound in hand of the selection at the weights, rates the main danger, having produced the performance of her life when beaten a short head by Dar Re Mi in the Group 1 Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh.
But Casual Conquest, the only penalised runner in the race, is a class act and is a confident choice to indicate that Longchamp’s major day in October may well be a realistic proposition!
Aidan O’Brien’s Cape Blanco can land the Group 3 Korean Racing Authority Tyros Stakes. His neck defeat of Baglioni at Fairyhouse was an ordinary enough start, but the son of Galileo dug deep when the need was greatest and has enormous scope for improvement.
John Oxx’s Big Game Hunter has a real life in the Racing Rocks at Leopardstown Handicap. He has squeezed to two narrow successes thus far, at Navan and Fairyhouse and, as a result, remains on a decent mark.
Raise Your Heart, who bolted in by eight lengths at Leopardstown a week ago, has to be fancied to shrug off a mandatory, and paltry, 5lbs penalty in the Derrinstown Stud Apprentice Handicap.
At Limerick, Dessie Hughes’ Montero gets the nod in the Holmes O’Malley Sexton Chase. He lacks the experience of the likes of Toby Jug and War Of The World, but adapted to fences in fine style when scoring at Wexford, and may have more of a future at this game than that pair!
