Keep faith in Gospel
Ger Lyons’ three-year-old is seeking a spectacular five-timer and this is far and away his most difficult task to date.
Since being fitted with blinkers, he has made enormous improvement and competes here off a mark no less than 40lbs higher, compared to when his success story began.
The selection’s latest victory came at Navan, bolting in by four and half lengths. He went up 12lbs for that alone.
Ghetto Gospel now takes on the best horses he has ever faced and will be running over this mile and five furlongs for the first time.
The furthest he has travelled so far is ten furlongs, but shapes as if staying may well be his game and, hopefully, there is plenty more to come.
Kevin Prendergast’s Ferocious Fran gets the nod in the five furlongs Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Maiden.
There’s no doubt she’s ordinary, but at least is taking a fair drop in class. At Naas last time, Ferocious Fran was fifth behind Oor Jock and the form was nicely boosted when fourth placed, Looking Lovely, scored at Leopardstown on Thursday evening.
At Gowran Park tomorrow, Edward O’Grady can continue his fine run with Suffren in the www.gowranpark.ie Hurdle.
He didn’t have a whole lot to beat when getting off the mark over jumps at Killarney, but simply coasted home and may well be a horse with a future.
Sean Byrne’s Oilily can land the Inistioge Maiden Hurdle. Runner-up behind Hidden Universe in the Champion Bumper at the Punchestown Festival, she was then a costly failure on her debut over flights at Punchestown.
Oilily was beaten a length and three parts into second by Otterstown Lad, but the form looks solid, considering that winner has gone in again in the meantime.
The Bumper is best left to Kieran Purcell’s Viking Visitor, beaten into second by Fantasy King at Punchestown. Fantasy King won on the flat at Leopardstown on Wednesday.
At Down Royal tomorrow the hat-trick seeking Shareen, game winner of a handicap at Leopardstown on her latest appearance, gets the vote in the EBF Coolmore Stud Ulster Oaks.
John Oxx trains Shareeen and his Edallora, who made a promising start when fourth to Barbadine at Gowran Park, can do the business in the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Maiden.
