ANDY Slattery’s admirable nine-year-old returns tomorrow, seeking his third consecutive win in the Listed Irish Stallion Farms EBF Devoy Stakes at Naas.

The ground at Naas is currently described as soft to heavy, as it was last year, with heavy going 12 months earlier. The Pat Garvey-owned bay also runs well fresh, his two listed wins coming on his first start of the season, but Slattery admits that it becomes a bigger ask with each passing year.

“I, for one, would prefer it kept raining,” he told The Irish Field. “I suppose the other horses are getting younger and he’s getting older, but he seems in great form, he seems as good as ever heading for it.”

The remaining seven declared in the 10-and-a-half-furlong contest are four and five-year-olds, including the improving mares Beset and Shaool, who both made their stakes breakthroughs when last seen in the autumn.

Beset is dropping down in trip, having relished the mile-and-a-half trip in the Finale Stakes, which she won by seven and a half lengths for Joseph O’Brien and Declan McDonogh, who gets the leg up again at Naas.

Runner-up over that trip here on her penultimate start, the 25,000gns bargain buy did win a fillies’ handicap at Sligo over Sunday’s trip, on her first start for the yard. She was rated 75 then and rose to 106 following her pattern success.

On the up

Johnny Murtagh’s five-year-old mare Shaool is the highest-rated in the field at 108, granted after her six-length defeat of geldings in the Trigo Stakes over 10 furlongs at Leopardstown. That career-best came on heavy ground, while she won the valuable Northfields Handicap on good to yielding.

Amo Racing and Giselle De Aguiar’s well-bred four-year-old Tiberius Thunder makes his first start for Robson Aguiar, having reached a rating of 104 for Adrian Murray. Iowa City gained her second blacktype placing last season after selling to Paddy Twomey for €210,000 and bids to add to her value on her seasonal return.

Sunchart has been a terrific servant for owner Pat Garvey, placing in seven stakes races on the flat and in two Grade 3 hurdles, but it’s notable that three of his listed seconds came at Sunday’s track.

“He absolutely loves Naas,” Slattery notes. “You’ll get a better performance there than anywhere; he loves the track. He’s working well, everything has gone well. He seems to be in good nick.”

Another positive is that the Slattery team enjoyed a bright start to the turf season at the Curragh on Sunday, with Pollenca beating an even-money favourite from Ballydoyle in the fillies’ maiden, and the progressive Eastwatch taking second in the Irish Lincolnshire on his four-year-old return.