BYE Bye Baby will bid to go two places than her dam did at Epsom eight years ago as she booked her place in the Oaks with an all the way success in the Group 3 Plusvital Irish EBF Blue Wind Stakes.
Back in 2010 Bye Bye Baby’s dam, Remember When, ran a fine third to Snow Fairy in the Oaks and her daughter laid down a decent marker for that classic with an all the way success under Seamie Heffernan.
Only once before had the Blue Wind fallen to Aidan O’Brien and that victory came a decade ago but the trainer launched a strong bid for the latest renewal of the 10 furlongs contest as he supplied three of the six runners.
For her part Bye Bye Baby, a stakes winner last season, was taking a major step forward from her unplaced comeback in the Salsabil Stakes at Navan last month.
The market was headed by the impressive Leopardstown maiden winner Jaega but neither she nor any of the others were able to land a telling blow as Bye Bye Baby dictated the tempo from the outset.
Jaega, Clear Skies and I’m So Fancy all tried hard to get on terms inside the last quarter of a mile but the leader picked up well when required to carry the day by two lengths. Jaega took second ahead of Clear Skies.
“She came forward lovely from Navan and she’s a lovely, straight forward filly. I couldn’t be any happier with her,” said O’Brien. “The plan is to head for the Oaks now. She’s a very straight forward uncomplicated filly and she stays well.”
IMPROVEMENT
The Ger Lyons stalwart Ardhoomey notched up his first win since the 2016 Flying Five Stakes as he outpointed Gorane in the Listed Sole Power Stakes to improve on his runner-up finish in the race last year.
The Dark Angel six-year-old ran a series of fine races in good company last season and was recording a thoroughly well deserved success on his first outing since October. Early in the last furlong Ardhoomey (7/1) and Gorane settled down to do battle and Colin Keane’s mount moved ahead in the final yards to prevail by a head. The English raider and 6/4 favourite Kyllang Rock was found to be lame after finishing sixth.
“Colin just though he got tired late on and that the other filly might come back to head him but he’s held on,” declared Lyons who trains the winner for the Moyville Racing Syndicate. “When you have the likes of him and Brendan Brackan in the yard you won’t go far wrong and he’s a horse we will hopefully have lots of fun with this season. We’ll see what presents itself in the coming weeks and we said over the winter that he’s a horse we’d like to try over seven furlongs.”
Lyons and Keane also struck with the smart Inscribe in the 10 furlongs Plusvital-Energene-Q10 Handicap.
The David Spratt-owned four-year-old was making it three wins from four starts in handicaps and he did so in cosy fashion. From a quarter of a mile out the 3/1 favourite looked to have the front running Rickrack covered and Keane never had to get animated for his partner to prevail by a length. A major handicap could easily come this gelding’s way this season.
“That was lovely and I think there is a nice handicap in this horse. Ten furlongs is a good trip for him and he’ll go on any ground bar fast,” stated Lyons.
COMEBACK
Urban Beat (8/1) is most certainly a sprinter on the up on the evidence of his clear cut victory under top-weight in the €50,000 Plusvital Speed Gene Handicap for Shane Foley. A comeback success in a Navan maiden early last month saw Johnny Murtagh’s charge given an initial rating of 89 and he coped splendidly with a much stiffer test than the one he faced at Navan.
The field split into two groups for this six furlongs dash and the far side appeared to hold the call entering the last quarter of a mile but Urban Beat forged clear of the stands’ side group over the last couple of furlongs. The Fitzwilliam Racing-owned colt went to the line strongly to see off Aurora Eclipse by three and a half lengths.
“He got a little lonely as he was out there on his own. The far side looked to have it and Shane just said he had to get after him early enough,” observed Murtagh. “He’s stepped up on his Navan win and he’s a nice horse who will hopefully step up to group level later in the season.”
As well as taking the day’s feature Aidan O’Brien struck with Land Force (11/10) who showed good progress from his debut at Naas last month to register a cosy success in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.
From the first crop of the top juvenile No Nay Never, Land Force dictated the pace under Donnacha O’Brien and he quickened up the tempo in good style nearing the final furlong. The half-brother to the dual American Grade 1 winner Photo Call to defeated the newcomer Vocatus by two and a quarter lengths.
“We were a bit worried about the heavy ground but he came forward lovely from his first run and Donnacha was very happy too,” observed O’Brien. “He’s a hardy horse who is going to take racing and he could come back here for Marble Hill Stakes.”
WINNING DEBUT
Fozzy Stack has a nice middle distance prospect on his hands in Carlo Biraghi (7/1) who made a winning debut in the 10 furlongs Plusvital Racing Syrup Maiden. A son of Galileo and the Group 3-placed Kirinda, the colt struck for home under Chris Hayes with just over a quarter of a mile to run and kept on well when pressed by the favourite Arthurian Fame to win by three and a quarter lengths.
“He’s a nice horse who stays well and he has matured a lot over the winter,” reported the trainer. “Chris said he wasn’t in love with that ground but the hardest job he had was pulling him up. He’ll probably go for either the Gallinule or the Nijinsky Stakes next.”
Brave Display (10/1) once again lived up to his name as he notched up his fourth victory in just over a year in the Plusvital Powered By Equinome Handicap. The Patrick Prendergast-trained sprinter, who was giving jockey Cian MacRedmond his second winner, ran on well over the last furlong to edge out last year’s winner Gopsies Daughter by a head.
“He’s been running up in Dundalk and I just felt that he needed a break from there,” reflected Prendergast who trains the winner for Noel Carter. “He had plenty of weight and the ground was softer than ideal but after speaking to Willie (McCreery) he told me that horses run for Cian so we decided to claim the 10 lbs off him. Cian’s father, Mark, is my vet so I’m thrilled the horse has won for him.”
Suspension
Seamie Heffernan picked up a three-day whip ban for his efforts on the unplaced Rapid Reaction in the handicap won by Brave Display.
ACTING STEWARDS
N.B. Wachman, A. Byrne, T.L. Crawford, Mrs J.O. Onions, P.D. Matthews.
HORSE TO FOLLOW
ASTRONOMER (A.P. O’Brien): This unraced son of Galileo put in some reasonable late work to finish fourth in the maiden won by Carlo Biraghi and, with this initial experience behind him, he could go close to winning a maiden next time.