Thundering On set to return to action in Blandford Stakes

WATCHING BRIEF: Jockeys Declan McDonagh, Ronan Whelan, and Joey Sheridan at the Irish Champions Festival preview morning at the Curragh on Wednesday. Picture: Morgan Treacy/Inpho

Joseph O’Brien is preparing to return his Oaks heroine Thundering On to action in the Moyglare “Jewels” Blandford Stakes on day two of the Irish Champions Festival.

The Owning Hill handler will be well represented across the two days, but chief among his hopes will be his Epsom Classic winner who was last seen finishing fourth when taking on her elders over the Blandford Stakes course and distance in the Pretty Polly Stakes.

Freshened up since a late absentee from the Irish Oaks in July, she reappears in a race that is down in grade on paper but one her handler feels will offer a stern examination.

“She’s had a little mid-season break with a view to focusing on an autumn campaign and this is a lovely starting point for her,” said O’Brien.

“She’s a high-class filly and there’s the potential for a little bit of rain next week that wouldn’t do her chances any harm. She has won on a quicker surface, but I think she is most effective on easier ground like she got at Epsom.

“The Blandford is a Group 2, but it looks like the race could end up being a Group One [in quality] and she looks like a live contender.” 

On the same afternoon O’Brien has a host of entries for the Comer Group International Irish St Leger, but it could be the versatile Trustyourinstinct that is tasked with downing his father Aidan’s leading stayer Scandinavia in a race the younger O’Brien won with Al Riffa 12 months ago.

O’Brien said: “I think Trustyourinstinct will be the main one for us in the Irish Leger, he loves the Curragh and is coming off the back of a career best [when winning the Curragh Cup].

“Of course Scandinavia will be very hard to beat, but he’s a good horse, Trustyourinstinct, and he’s very ground versatile.

“He’s been around for a long time and keeps getting better and I suppose we’re learning about him too and have been able to change tactics and do different things as he’s got older. He just keeps getting better and long may that last.” 

O’Brien will also have a strong hand in the juvenile events, with notable names including Phoenix Stakes runner-up Folsom Blues stepping back up in trip for the Goffs Vincent O’Brien National Stakes and Lowther Stakes runner-up Star Of State seeking the €135,000 on offer to the winner of the Tattersalls Ireland Super Auction Sales Stakes.

Debutante Stakes winner Green Empress may have finished second to the high-class Sun Goddess on her first two outings, but is backed to give her a run for her money if they were to clash again in the Group 1 Moyglare Stud Stakes “Green Empress has done great and obviously is the Debutante winner and she will probably be joined in the Moyglare by Dancing Destiny who was second behind her in the Debutante,” explained O’Brien.

“It looks like they might have to take on Sun Goddess and Alpha. Green Empress has been second to Sun Goddess twice, but she was getting closer to her the last day and we probably felt after the race we wouldn’t be afraid to take her on again.

“Stepping up to seven has suited her and hopefully she can compete with Sun Goddess, who looks the best young filly around.” 

Meanwhile, connections of Hotazhell are looking to the Royal Bahrain Irish Champion Stakes as preparation for the Qatar Racing Champion Stakes at Ascot where they hope he will get his preferred ground.

The Jessica Harrington-trained four-year-old was a one-and-a-half-length third behind Purview in a hot renewal of the Irish International Stakes at the Curragh before heading to Germany to make all and win the Group 1 Grosser Dallmayr-Preis in Munich.

Five of the seven runners of that Curragh race have subsequently gone on and won and the Harrington team could not be happier with how the Too Darn Hot colt is ahead of the Leopardstown showpiece on Saturday week.

Kate Harrington, assistant to her mother, was at the Curragh on Wednesday to see him work and said: “We’re delighted with him. He’s come out of Germany really, really well. We actually couldn’t be happier with him and we’re delighted with his workout there.

“He had his usual bit of antics beforehand, but that’s him. If he didn’t do that he wouldn’t be Hotazhell – he’s very well named!

“He really loved the ground out there and any bit of rain that falls between now and then we won’t be saying ‘no’ to.

“In the spring he had a bit of a slow start and he just took a little while to come to himself. He was hanging the first day in Navan and we’ve kind of ironed that out now and then the form of the race here at the Curragh behind Purview has worked out extraordinary well.

“We were hoping for the best going into Germany and Shane [Foley] did have to go to Plan Z, the plan wasn’t to make it, but he was very, very good.

“We’re thinking of the Irish Champion Stakes as a stepping-stone towards the English Champion Stakes where you hope he’d have heavy ground. Shane wants to see him back on heavy ground and thinks we’ll see a different class of horse then.” 

On the same afternoon, stablemate Green Impact will go for the Kilternan Stakes at a track he loves, with three wins and a short-head defeat from four races at the Dublin circuit.

The Wootton Bassett colt was only denied in the dying strides by Willie Mullins’ Breeders’ Cup winner Ethical Diamond in the Ballyroan Stakes as he surrendered his 100% record.

Harrington said: “It was his first time apart from the Irish Derby contending a mile and a half and he seemed to see it out really really well. He hit the line really, really well that day and we’ve just given him a little bit of a break since then.

“But looking at the entries it’s not really like a Group 3, it’s more like a Group 1.”