BUCKAROO (105+) and Homeless Songs (105+) arrived at Leopardstown on Wednesday looking to recover the form which earned the former billing as a classic contender and delivered the latter a spectacular victory in the Irish 1000 Guineas.

Buckaroo was successful on the day as Joseph O’Brien’s colt prevailed in what jockey Oisin Murphy described as a ‘sit and sprint’ contest.

The jockey’s description is reflected perfectly in the data as the overall time was slower than the following maiden, while the closing sectionals posted by the star attractions were the best on the card.

Buckaroo sat closer to the pace which proved decisive as his finishing split of 38.35secs was eclipsed by Homeless Songs who covered the same ground in 38.12secs.

The quickest time on the day was recorded by Savethelastdance (106) as she dominated her field through the final seven furlongs of the mile-and-a-quarter contest. The daughter of Galileo stopped the clock at 39.48secs for her sectional as she defeated her better fancied stable companion Boogie Woogie (103).

Azazat (103) was drawn next to the winner, although was taken back to avoid a wide trip by Chris Hayes. A closing sectional of 39.21secs was insufficient for the daughter of Camelot to reach a challenging position although it was only bettered on the day by the first two home in the Heritage Stakes.

Fleetfoot (103) needed a strong ride from Rory Cleary to edge a tight finish with Farnborough in the one-mile maiden as Jim Bolger’s colt completed his race in 40.39secs.

Although unable to match the first two when the pace lifted, Canute (100+) found his stride in the final furlong, completing his race in 40.82secs. Described as lazy at home by Aidan O’Brien, the son of Quality Road is likely to improve for the run and an extra distance of ground.

The Prairie (97) also clocked a faster time than the handicap winners with Wayne Lordan’s assistance from the saddle delivering a closing sectional of 40.24secs from the Ballydoyle colt.

Cristal Clere (86) backed up quickly from Sunday to post the best time of the handicaps, covering the last three furlongs in 40.22secs while Wild Dollar (85+) was the closer finishing off in 39.67secs.

All Lies Ahead (70) produced the quickest finish of the remaining races, although was slowest overall, stopping the clock at 40.84secs.

There was little to separate Asisaid (77) and Bringsty (88) as they clocked 42.86secs and 42.32secs respectively.

Tenebrism impresses back over six furlongs
at Cork

TENEBRISM (105+) illuminated the Cork card on Saturday with a rapid final furlong to land the Listed Cork Stakes.

Although Cork is a notoriously difficult track from which to extract sectional times, there was a clear view of the furlong pole which helped to establish respective finishing speeds. The daughter of Caravaggio stamped her Group 1 class on the race late as she covered the final 220 yards in a rapid 12.60secs.

Aidan O’Brien reported Royal Ascot to be the long-term target with a run at Naas a possibility between now and the Royal meeting in June. Noche Magica (96) is another who looks Ascot bound after an impressive victory in the two-year-old maiden.

Sturlasson (90) brought racecourse experience to the contest and appeared to repeat his Curragh performance. Kieran Cotter’s colt always looked to have the measure of Alabama yet could not repel the challenge of Paddy Twomey’s debutant when the Night Of Thunder colt surged to the front passing the furlong marker on his way to concluding his race in 13.13secs.

Pineapple Island (96) was the other notable finisher, clocking 13.10secs for her final furlong to cover the five furlongs in an almost identical time to Noche Magica.

Analysis

To complete the analysis over the minimum trip, Real Force (102) posted a quicker overall time than the other two races despite finishing off in 14.53secs.

The seven-furlong handicaps were run in contrasting style with The Snapper quicker overall than Joe Masseria (88+). However, Noel Meade’s winner was faster through the final furlong, the relevant data being 13.07secs compared to 14.78secs.

The same pattern emerged in the maidens as impressive winner You Send Me (93+) held sway overall despite posting 14.08secs for her final furlong, Something Nice (92+) stopped the clock at 13.54secs.