AFTER bumping into two of the world’s highest-rated fillies in her two attempts at Group 1 level last year, Estrange faces another powerhouse performer in Thundering On in today’s Group 1 Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes (3.55) - but her trainer David O’Meara is up for the challenge.

The Fermoy, Co Cork native, who has already saddled 42 winners from his North Yorkshire base this year, will bid for the 10th Group 1/Grade 1 win of his career in this afternoon’s feature race at the Curragh. The Pretty Polly would be his first top-level win in Ireland, though.

Cheveley Park Stud’s five-year-old mare is priced up as the clear second-favourite behind the impressive Oaks winner from Epsom. The Joseph O’Brien-trained star filly receives a very significant 12lb in weight-for-age allowance from Estrange, who made a successful reappearance in Group 3 company at Carlisle last month.

“Estrange has been getting on great ahead of this weekend” O’Meara told The Irish Field. “She had a nice win on her comeback and she seems to have come out of it well. We’re coming back to a mile and a quarter with her. She won over a mile and three furlongs last time, so hopefully a furlong shorter will be okay for her. She hasn’t run at this trip since winning at Doncaster towards the end of her three-year-old season, but hopefully she’ll be fine.”

O’Meara, who has saddled eight winners in Ireland over the last dozen years, added: “It’s a different dynamic for the favourite compared to Epsom, where she was obviously very good. The ground looks like it will be drier, although there are some showers around in the forecast. That would probably help our filly, even if Carlisle was good-ish ground.

“Our filly has run in two Group 1s in her career, finishing second to Minnie Hauk in one and runner-up to Kalpana in the other. She probably looks better this year than last year. We know that we’ve got to give a lot of weight to Thundering On in terms of an age allowance, but we’ll give it our best go.”

O’Meara is also represented at Irish flat racing headquarters tomorrow with recent impressive Doncaster winner Toca Madera in the €100,000 Dubai Duty Free Rockingham Premier Handicap (1.40).

The handicapper dished out an 11lb hike for that victory, his first for the trainer since being bought out of Brian Meehan’s yard for 22,000gns at the Tattersalls Autumn Horses-In-Training Sale in October.

“He actually broke the track record last time at Doncaster,” said O’Meara.

“Unlike Estrange, he probably won’t want to see any of the rain coming, but hopefully he can run well.”