AIDAN O’BRIEN
CHURCHILL
(311111-1)
Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas
He is very well and Donnacha, who rides him at home, is very happy with him. We were happy with how he was going to Newmarket but he may well have come on again since the run, seen as it was his first start this season.
We decided to keep him at a mile as we have several other horses for the Derby. He is a very fast horse, he travels so well through his races and he has such a fast pedigree so I think he’ll probably be staying at a mile for the timebeing.
WINTER
(331-21)
Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas
We were obviously delighted with her at Newmarket and we’ve been happy with her since. It makes sense to keep her to a mile for now as we are going to move Rhododendron up in trip (goes straight to Epsom for the Oaks). Winter is a big powerful filly and she travels really strongly through her races.
She seems to see out a mile very well and she is versatile groundwise, as she moves so well.
MICHAEL HALFORD
IRISHCORRESPONDENT
(11)
Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas
He seems to be in good form and his preparation has gone very well. It is a big step up for him and, while he also lacks big-race experience, he is a colt we have always liked and he has come on again since he ran the last day at the Curragh. What impressed us most about that performance was the way that he travelled through the race and Shane (Foley) said that when he got to the front, he was still a bit green, but he still quickly put the race to bed.
We don’t know how good he is and Saturday will tell us more about him. He is very straightforward and nothing seems to faze him. He did his last bit of work up the Old Vic on Wednesday and I was very happy with him.
REHANA
(3144-31)
Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas
I couldn’t be happier with her. She looks great and she did her final piece of work at home during the week. She did it the hard way when she won what looked like a strong Group 3 at Naas and she has improved again for that run. The form of her first run of the season, in the 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown, has worked out very well and I just hope that she gets her ground on Sunday – she likes it good or quicker.
She relaxes so well in her races that I think she has every chance of getting a mile and assuming she gets her conditions, I think she’ll run very well.
COLIN KEANE
GLASTONBURY SONG
(1-51)
Tattersalls Irish 2000 Guineas
We like him a lot and we think that he’s a very good horse, but whether he is a Group 1 horse or not, only time will tell. He has won two of his three starts and I think he has improved since his last run. He deserves to take his chance in the race. He gets a mile well and he likes nice ground so I think he goes there with a chance of running a big race.
Churchill will be very hard to beat and, in fairness to him, it looks as if he only just does enough. I was still very impressed with him at Newmarket and he is a worthy favourite. But I have been very happy with my horse and he has improved throughout the year and I wouldn’t swap him.
JIM BOLGER
BEAN FEASA
(208-521)
Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas
She has come on again since she won her trial at Leopardstown and I’d be expecting a very big run from her. She is a big filly that I think will continue to improve throughout the season and I can see her getting 10 furlongs in time. It looks a very good race, but she is there to do her best and I just hope that the forecast rain arrives and the ground isn’t too quick – I like my horses to last. I’m sure she’ll handle whatever we get. I’ve been very happy with her.
KEN CONDON
ELUSIVE BEAUTY
(0513482354-62314)
Hotels & Resorts Spring Fillies Handicap
She ran on Tuesday at Gowran Park and she ran okay - we were trying her over the trip for the first time and maybe she didn’t stay. She is a very reliable filly however and I think she can be competitive off her current rating of 93 in this race, which is back over a mile.
We are looking forward to running her in what looks like a very good race. She has been in good form since Gowran Park and if the rain that is forecast arrives, that will help her as well.
SUCCESS DAYS
(22310-2)
Tattersalls Gold Cup
He is in very good form and we were delighted with his first run at Naas when he was only just beaten on the line by Air Pilot. It’s no secret that soft ground is the key to him so we’re hoping the forecast rain delivers enough ease in the ground. He ran really well in this race last season when third to Fascinating Rock and Found. If you look at the race tomorrow, there seems to be very little between the main horses on official ratings. We think Success Days is a little bit better this year and we’re hoping the rain arrives so he can show that.
DERMOT WELD
RAYMONDA
(1/14-2)
Lanwades Stud Stakes
I was very pleased with her first run of the season (at Leopardstown) and she has come out of that race in good shape. She will probably be our main runner for the weekend. It was lovely to get blacktype for her on her first run of the season and I think a mile on good ground at the Curragh will suit her. It looks a competitive race and there will be some very good fillies against her, but our filly is in very good form and I am sure that she’ll represent us well. We also have Making Light in the 1,000 Guineas, but her participation will depend on what rain arrives – she is a filly that has to get her toe in.
JOSEPH MURPHY
(ASSISTANT TO FATHER JOE)
ONLY MINE
(931370-3)
Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes
She will run and she is working away very well. She is a listed and a group winner and this looks the logical race for her run in. She is in very good form and in her younger days she was at her best on soft ground, but she seems to handle any ground now, so conditions won’t be a problem for her. We would have liked to have gotten another run into her before now, but she looks great and she’ll take her chance.
SHEPHERD’S PURSE
(494522-73208)
Hanlon Concrete Handicap
He is a good horse and there is a big day in him somewhere. He ran well at Dundalk over the winter and we gave him a break afterwards and he might just have needed his first run back. He has a nice weight on his back, so hopefully he’ll be competitive on Saturday. He likes a fast pace to aim at and he is likely to get that at the Curragh.
BORN TO PLAY
(42)
Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes
We think he is a good, solid horse and, while he remains a maiden, he is not out of it by any means. He looks sure to win his maiden but we stuck him in this and having looked through the race during the week, we were fairly sure about declaring him. It is tough Group 3 race of course, but it is for three-year-olds only and I think the trip will suit him. The plan was always to try to win his maiden and come here - we are halfway there with him. We have nothing to lose by running him – he will win his maiden and he goes into the race in very good form.
FIT FOR FUNCTION
(12937174-92)
Irish Stallion Farms EBF Habitat Handicap
The trip might just stretch him a bit and we could have gone for the six-furlong handicap (on Saturday), but the two times that he has won over six, it has been around a bend at Dundalk and Leopardstown. A straight six doesn’t seem to suit him, so we’ll ride him to get the trip and if he sees it out, it might open up a few more options for him later on in the season. He needed the run the first day at Limerick and he was a bit keen that day. He had a blow 100 yards from the line back there again the last day over a mile and Jim Bolger’s horse Club Wexford came and nailed him close home. He is a good, solid horse and I think there is one of these big handicaps in him when he gets his conditions. He has a nice weight on his back and the ground will be fine for him as it will be for all of my runners – once we don’t get extremes.
MICHAEL
O’CALLAGHAN (below)
ACT OF VALOUR
(5-31)
Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes
We’re looking forward to running him in the Gallinule. He won his maiden impressively and I have spoken to Pat (Smullen) since and he really likes him. He said that he has plenty of pace and a mile and a quarter is his trip. He has come out of Roscommon very well and we think that he deserves to take his chance. You’d imagine that most of Aidan’s good middle-distance horses will be heading to Epsom next weekend, but, in saying that, this will be a very competitive race. I think my horse has come on again since Roscommon. This represents a step up for him, but I’d like to think that we are going there with a chance.
NAVAJO DREAMER
(7)
Equisoft Irish EBF Fillies Maiden
She will improve plenty for her first run at Naas – she was plenty green, but that race is working out to be a very good maiden. She just wouldn’t like the ground too fast, but I think she’ll improve plenty for her first run and is well capable of winning her maiden.
REEHAB
Equisoft Irish EBF Fillies Maiden
She will also go for the fillies’ maiden and is a very well-bred filly. She is a slight type of filly, but we like her and she’ll start off there.
BLUE DE VEGA
(2372-3)
Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes
He’ll go for the Greenlands Stakes. He is in very good form and he was in Dundalk during the week just to tune up. He badly needed his first run and he has come on a lot for that. I think six furlongs will suit him and he is a horse with a lot of natural speed. Pat (Smullen) shared that view when he rode him over seven furlongs at Naas on his seasonal debut and I’d be hopeful that he’ll run a very good race now back at six.
RAPID APPLAUSE
(9-78514)
Hanlon Concrete Handicap
He needs a strong pace to run at, but he wouldn’t want the ground too quick. He is in good shape and he should run well.
SHEILA LAVERY
TWIN STAR
(0-61)
Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes
He won well last week at Navan and he came out of that race very well. He hasn’t got a mark, so I am kind of forced to go this route with him, but I think he’ll come on again for Navan and he is a very nice horse. A strongly run mile and a quarter on a good track like the Curragh should suit him. It will be a big step up for him, but he is an improving horse that we like, so he’ll take his chance.
SEVENLEFT
(430891-5)
Irish Stallion Farms EBF Habitat Handicap
He would have needed his first run back at Naas last weekend and he will come on for that. We have always liked him and he’ll take his chance on Sunday. I think he’ll come on again, but he has come out of Naas very well and Robbie Colgan who rode him the other day, was very pleased how he travelled through the race at Naas. He is a nice horse and I think he’ll run a nice race.