Dandy Man can swoop late in Woodlands
Tracey Collins’ colt produced some sparkling displays last season, although ultimately failing fail to scale the heights to which many of us thought him capable.
His best performance, arguably, came in the King’s Stand Stakes at Royal Ascot when finishing a close fourth behind the Australian horse, Takeover Target.
That was a particularly creditable effort, because Dandy Man had the very worst of the draw. He then returned to Ireland to easily beat Benbaun and Osterhase.
John Mulhern’s Osterhase renews rivalry and is well capable of putting it up to the selection. Dandy Man to cut him down in the closing stages is the prediction.
The opening Naas Median Auction Maiden is best left to Ken Condon’s Davidii. The grey was out of his depth when fifth to Teofilo and Holy Roman Emperor in the National Stakes at the Curragh in September, but previously had subsequent winners, Chivalrous and Man With A Plan, behind when beaten a length into second by Angelonmyshoulder at Leopardstown.
Aidan O’Brien runs three in tomorrow’s Group Three Ballysax Stakes at Leopardstown and, presumably, Macarthur is the stable choice, having come in for plenty of support for the Epsom Derby of late.
Preference, however, is for the only penalised runner in the race, Jim Bolger’s Creachadoir. He has two recent runs under his belt and was impressive when scoring on this track last time by three and a half lengths.
The form got a minor boost when fourth placed Consul General scored at Limerick yesterday.
John Oxx’s Danak is no more than a hopeful choice to land a wide open looking Listed Heritage Stakes.
Unbeaten in three races, he battled on well to resist Arabian Prince at Cork back in August and comes from a yard in good form.
Aidan O’Brien also tests the skills of punters in the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Maiden with three from Ballydoyle set to face the starter.
The nod, in any case, falls on Ger Lyons’ Vincenzio Galilei, beaten a neck by Mores Wells first time up at Leopardstown earlier in the month.
At Cork tomorrow, Tom Foley’s Dancing Hero should prove hard to beat in the Kanturk Maiden Hurdle. A more than useful bumper horse, he has yet to get his act together over flights, but there was real cause for hope in his latest effort. That was at Gowran Park 17 days ago when beaten three lengths by ill-fated G’Day Mate. Dancing Hero stuck to his task in fine style and stepping up another half mile in trip should be just the job!
Dalucci, beaten a neck by Lutea at Kelso on his latest appearance, looks on a winning mark in the Killetra Handicap Hurdle.
