Sr Carthage to continue on upward curve

The first of Cork’s three-day meeting takes place this afternoon, and Sr Carthage can make the most of the conditions to take the valuable Cork Handicap for Jim Bolger.

The mare took a big step forward when encountering very testing ground at Listowel in September, and followed up with the minimum of fuss just two days later. She then ran a superb race to be beaten just half a length in third place behind Silver Concorde in the November Handicap at Leopardstown on her final start of the season.

She finished the term on a mark of 84 and there’s no reason to believe she has finished progressing. The drop back to ten and a half furlongs isn’t a concern, particularly on the soft-to-heavy ground, and she can make a winning start to the new campaign, at the expense of Papa’s Way, who won this race last year and was successful over hurdles at this track recently.