Present Soldier fires warning

THOSE racegoers who were in attendance at Tattersalls on Saturday would look to have been treated to a number of vintage contests, particularly in the race won by Present Soldier (95+).

Despite having ground to make up on the front trio approaching the home straight, he powered up the hill in a race with depth courtesy of previous form horses Arctic Bresil and Record High. It is likely to produce a number of subsequent winners.

The first division of that maiden saw two horses pull clear with Monbeg Park (94+) outstaying Snowy Evening in a strongly run-race. That was similar to the 18-runner five-year-old equivalent when Monbeg Lane (90+) outstayed the eye-catching Glengeever.

Plenty left

Notnowlinda (84+) was sent on at the third-last fence and had plenty left in the tank to fend off all challengers, with another notable winning performance in the four-year-old mares’ division coming at Dromahane with Queens Vic (84++) in a league of her own.

What she beat will become clearer in time, but visually it was very impressive, whilst The Gunner Yeats (92+) looks to be a stayer for the future with a very likeable attitude.

At Damma House, Sporting Mike (92+) was perhaps not best suited by the sharp test, but he gamely battled back to record a narrow success in the second division of the four-year-old maiden which followed the final-fence fall of the luckless Colonel Harry (91x) in the opening divide. He would likely have been a facile debut victor otherwise, while It’s All Guesswork (118+) put up a big display in the open.