Longer trip in France’s favour
The Flemensfirth gelding made his debut at Roscommon last October, finishing a creditable third behind two decent sorts in Bonisland and Thunder And Roses.
The five-year-old then wasn’t seen again until reappearing at Naas last month, when going off a warm favourite.
Couler France, though, proved no match for Tony Martin’s Quickpick Vic, finishing a disappointing 13 lengths second.
He stayed on well enough, however, to suggest that an extra two furlongs now will be in his favour and this does look a weaker race.
The obvious danger is Willie Mullins’ Bally Longford, but he is proving costly to follow and his close third on this track last time, behind Benemeade and The Job Is Right, isn’t working out at all.
At Dundalk tonight the most interesting horse on view is surely Aidan O’Brien’s once-raced Marchese Marconi in the Dundalk Stadium On Facebook Maiden.
The Galileo colt has clearly had problems and has been absent since finishing a short head and half a length third behind the John Oxx pair, Aklan and Ebazan, at the Curragh in April.
That was a cracking heat, producing a number of future winners, and Marchese Marconi is impossible to oppose.
David Wachman’s Precious Stone is the choice in the Irish Stallion Farms’ EBF Fillies Race.
She was most frustrating for the bulk of last season, before hitting form with a vengeance at the back-end
The selection won a maiden here, followed by a handicap at Leopardstown, before rounding off her campaign with a career-best effort when runner-up behind the classy Lily’s Angel in a Listed race, back at Dundalk.
