IT might be considered slightly surprising that Andrew Balding has only saddled one winner in Ireland through his highly-successful career, but there’s every chance he can enhance his record on these shores in today’s Paddy Power Pretty Polly Stakes (3.30) at the Curragh.

Juddmonte home-bred Kalpana is the standout runner on ratings in the first Group 1 contest of the weekend, and is the only top-level winner in the seven-strong field, which also includes Epsom Oaks runner-up Whirl.

Finishing third to Los Angeles and Prince Of Wales’s Stakes second Anmaat on her comeback in last month’s Tattersalls Gold Cup bodes well for Kalpana ahead of this target.

“We’ve been really happy with her since her last trip to Ireland,” Balding said.

High-class filly

“She is a very high-class filly and, although we know she will probably improve for going a little further, she seems to me like she will be pretty effective going a mile and a quarter. We hope she’ll run very well and, particularly if the ground stays good, she should be very competitive.”

Aidan O’Brien’s recent record in the Pretty Polly hasn’t been as strong as is the case with other Group 1s in the Irish calendar, with the marvellous Magical his only winner here since Minding won the same event in 2016. Talented Oaks runner-up Whirl is his sole representative this time.

“Whirl is just a three-year-old, but we always felt this was a race that would suit her,” O’Brien said. “She seems to have come out of her last run well and she’s the one we’ve decided to run here.”

On the drop in distance to 10 furlongs for today’s feature, he told the Curragh’s social media channels: “She won over a mile and a quarter at York and was very impressive that day. It was a big run out of her when stepping up to a mile and a half at Epsom, but looking at her York run, you’d think she’d have no problem going back to a Group 1 over a mile and a quarter.”