Westlake a confident choice
As a son of Sadler's Wells any ease in the surface should not be a problem for a three-year-old who has sound credentials.
Lightly-raced, he produced his best performance so far on this track in the middle of last month. The selection went off a heavily-backed favourite, but failed to handle market-rival, Honolulu.
The pair engaged in a sustained tussle through the final furlong, with Aidan O'Brien's colt prevailing by half a length. That effort on the part of Westlake was put into context subsequently when Honolulu went on to land a decent Listed race at Limerick.
The biggest worry now may be another Ballydoyle inmate, Diego Velasquez. He will have to step up plenty on his debut sixth to Prince Erik at Leopardstown in May to trouble Westlake, but experience has taught us that's far from impossible!
Only five are set to face the starter in the Golden Fleece Stakes, but they are all winners and it promises a fascinating and informative contest.
Minneapolis, successful at Gowran Park, and Going Public, who scored here, are the two I like. Going Public's race has worked out particularly well with Strait Of Mewsina (third), Lisvale (fourth) and Billyford (seventh) scoring in the meantime. Preference, however, is for Minneapolis, who looked a horse of huge potential when easily dealing with lesser opposition at Gowran.
The Big Apple Handicap has 22 possibilities, among them a proverbial good thing in Jim Bolger's Allesandro.
The Galileo gelding was beaten three parts of a length by Imperial Rose in a conditions event at the Curragh last Friday night.
The four-year-old had no right to finish anywhere near that mare, considering he was meeting her on terms which were 27lbs unfavourable.
Allesandro goes up 16lbs in the future.
