Dundalk tips: Longer trip to suit Benavente
Joseph O'Brien can take the fillies maiden at Dundalk with Lovely Esteem. Picture: PA
Benavente can take the Irishinjuredjockeys.com Maiden for Richard O’Brien at Dundalk today. His sole outing to date was in a Naas maiden won by subsequent Group 1 winner Lucky Vega, and he ran with real promise.
Keen through the early stages, he was close to last place for much of the journey but when switched wide to make a run he finished to good effect to be beaten just four and a quarter lengths into seventh place.
That was over six furlongs and everything about the performance suggests he will improve for today’s longer trip. This does not look the strongest of races and, if ready to build on that promise, he will take plenty of beating. There is further encouragement to be taken from the form of the stable, which had two winners from six runners here last month and one from three already this month.
Star Harbour can give him most to think about. A €290,000 foal which became a €400,000 yearling, he was well backed to make a winning debut here just 11 days ago.
He did not enjoy the best of luck in running and probably should have finished a little closer than the three-length fifth to The Highway Rat, but that didn’t look a particularly strong race. He can reverse form with Visualisation, who was a length and a half in front of him but will need to step up quite nicely to beat the selection.
Lovely Esteem sets the standard in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Fillies’ Maiden and can make the most of the opportunity. Joseph O’Brien’s representative made her debut in a one-mile maiden at Leopardstown in July and was quite well backed to make a winning start. Ultimately, she was not up to the task but ran a fine race to take fourth place behind the promising Nicest, with subsequent maiden winner Talacre in second place.
The drop in trip is not certain to suit but she looks a decent sort in the making and can get off the mark at the expense of Mo Celita, who made a promising start behind Let’s in a six-furlong maiden at this track.
4:00 Empire Street
4:30 Ballycaines
5:00 Harriet’s Force
5:30 Tyriana
6:00 Red Heel
6:30 Benavente (nap)
7:00 Lovely Esteem (nb)
7:30 Irish Acclaim
4:00 Wisaka
4:30 Herculaneum
5:00 Turbo Command
5:30 Masalai
6:00 Munfallet
6:30 Star Harbour
7:00 Mo Celita
7:30 Red Cymbal
