Rain wreaking havoc
Burn And Turn had to be withdrawn during the week. So did Steps To Freedom and Bob Le Beau from the Saval Beg last night. I would have hoped for big runs from all three but as I’ve said before, there’s nothing you can do about it.
It meant that I had only one tip for the week and Dane Street came up trumps without any trouble in what was overall a very good week.
We had four winners from last Friday week (not including Backbench Blues’ Listed victory last night), two that were just touched off and three thirds. That’s a good return from 15 runners and I would have been very pleased with how most of the other six ran.
Dane Street was very impressive when winning the ten-furlong fillies’ 3yo maiden at Fairyhouse on Wednesday. It looked a good contest but Fran didn’t have to work hard at all. That will bring her on a hell of a lot.
She’s an enormous filly who needs a galloping track so I have to be careful with her. She is going to run next at Naas on June 27 in a Listed race. We’ll go to Cork in the beginning of August after that. If she wins both of those, then there’ll be plenty of options.
Bendzoldan won well in Down Royal eight days ago, and she overcame a bad draw to do it. She battled and won with a bit in hand. She wants good ground and I had her in a couple of times for the week ahead but we’ll have to wait and see now.
Hopefully we’ll get another handicap out of her. She was off a lot higher mark as a two-year-old when Tom Cleary had her and she seems to be coming back to herself a bit now, which is promising.
Green Chorus was very unlucky to be caught on Saturday. That was improvement again on her last race, when she finished second as well. That’s two solid races and she will go in a handicap at Leopardstown next week.
One Fine Day carried on the promise of her first run when winning very cosily by 4¼ lengths at Listowel. There’s a handicap for her in Fairyhouse on Wednesday and if the ground is soft she could run in that.
Royal Blue Star ran another good race in a Listed contest and we’ll just keep going with her in that sort of company. Hopefully she can get the good ground she needs. She’s entered for Leopardstown on Thursday but I’ve a nasty feeling we won’t be going anywhere because the weather forecast is bad.
Liberating was third in another Listed contest. She’s probably not good enough to take to Ascot, which we had hoped she might be, but she might have a little break and we’ll try to find some more races for her after that.
I was delighted with Calissa’s third as she was drawn very wide in comparison to the first two. At the furlong marker you’d have thought she might be fifth but she ran on really well and the penny has dropped with her. She probably needs seven furlongs and might run at the Curragh on Derby weekend. A bit of juice in the ground will help her.
Takeyourcapoff and Why But Why were third and sixth behind Scots Gaelic in a Fairyhouse handicap on Wednesday. I was a bit surprised by Takeyourcapoff as it was her first run since September and she generally wants quicker ground. Kevin Sexton is worth every bit of his ten-pound claim. Why But Why travelled very well but just mightn’t have got home. A mile-and-a-half on the flat might stretch him.
Somethingdifferent was just beaten a head in a maiden hurdle at Tipperary on Thursday. It was a really good run. She was out for 18 months before having that nice run in Killarney and sometimes you worry about the next run after that. But he built well on it and hopefully he’ll win his maiden now.
Alpine Eagle surprised us all after an 11-month lay-off to win his chase. He jumped a lot better and was fresh and well in himself. We’ll see what the handicapper does with him before deciding where to go next.
Maid To Master should win the fillies’ mile maiden at Navan today if she carries on the promise of her 1¾ length third in Naas last month. She has continued to improve with every run and seems to be in good form so hopefully she’ll get off the mark.
We’ve also got Heroic Endeavour in his first handicap. He will like the ground which is very important as it’s going to be soft, so he’s worth watching.
Newberry Hill ran very well the last time after getting into a lot of trouble. He has a good draw at Curragh tomorrow so he’ll hopefully get out of the traps and run a big race. Three horses that finished in front of him the last time are in opposition again but he didn’t get the run of the race and will like the ground so he is a good each-way prospect.
Empress Of Tara probably won’t appreciate the going but we’ve got to get her out. In contrast, Glamorous, who is in foal, will absolutely love it so she has a big chance in a race that only has seven runners.
Violet Lashes has a great chance in the EBF maiden at Roscommon on Monday. She has been placed twice and was just touched off for third in a Listed race at Navan last time out so this looks a very good opportunity for her.
