Better to come from McGeeney
The six-year-old developed into a useful hurdler through the winter, ending on a positive note when landing a handicap at the Punchestown festival in early May.
He was then rested until reappearing on the flat at this track two weeks ago, running a nice sort of race to finish third behind Tornedo Shay and Silver Canyon.
Katie Walsh’s mount was noted doing all his best work at the end, giving the impression there was almost certainly better to come.
The fact Mullins has kept him on the go would indicate he has Galway in mind and Johnny McGeeney can take this on his way west.
Aidan O’Brien had six entries in the Listed Golden Fleece Stakes and runs just one of them, the maiden Tenth Star.
The Dansili colt has to be the choice, even if disappointing a little when beaten a neck into second by Jim Bolger’s newcomer, Zip Top, at Leopardstown earlier in the month.
Zip Top, enterprisingly handled by Kevin Manning, got first run on his rival on that occasion and Tenth Star is fancied to get it right this time round.
O’Brien can also supply the answer to the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Fillies Maiden with Devotion, the medium of a failed gamble here three weeks ago. Backed as high as 8-1 in the morning, she went off the 2-1 favourite and tried to make all of the running.
Devotion gave up very quickly in the straight, however, only managing seventh of nine behind Yellow Rosebud. That is surely not her true form and she is worth another chance to cope with Jemima’s Pearl, a promising enough third to Vault at the Curragh, but in a contest which has not been working out at all.
