Leopardstown – Thursday 27th July
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One of the highlights of the Flat season in Ireland are the midsummer meetings on a Thursday evening at Leopardstown and this week’s meeting is no exception. We have no less than 3 pattern races and a host of informative maidens to enjoy, kicking off at 4:37 with a Fillies maiden. Our Tipping team have looked through the card and highlighted 4 horses to keep an eye on, both this evening and for the remainder of the Flat season.
5:12 Jockey Club of Turkey Silver Flash Stakes (Group 3)
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YLANG YLANG
With 6 unexposed Fillies going to post it is hard to be entirely confident as all the runners are open to any amount of improvement, but if there is a standout Filly in this field it is surely the Aiden O’Brien trained Ylang Ylang. A Frankel Filly, she is related to International Group 1 winners Laughing (US) and Viva Pataca (Hong Kong), she made a very impressive debut under Ryan Moore when making all to win a maiden at the Curragh at the end of June. She was well supported for her debut, which is perhaps not a surprise given that she was a 1.5m guineas purchase as a yearling, but she showed an incredibly professional attitude to win and looks more than capable of taking the step up into Group company in her stride. The form of that race has yet to be fully tested, but the 6th placed Caught U Looking, who was 9-lengths behind her at the Curragh, did come out and win a maiden by 5-lengths here last week. Even more significantly, the 3rd placed She’s Quality played her part to boost the form when she was beaten by less than 3-lengths in the Group 3 Anglesey Stakes at the weekend. Ylang Ylang recorded a top speed figure of 59 on her debut, which does leave her with some improvement to find with some of her rivals, but the fact that she had to make her own running and she recorded a time just 2.5s above the standard, would be a solid reason to upgrade her potential.
5:47 Japan Racing Association Tyros Stakes (Group 3)
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ISLANDSINTHESTREAM
Joseph O’Brien has really burst into form in recent weeks, operating at a 19% strike rate in the last 14-days and a 69% Run-to-form rate in that time. With the yard going so well, Islandsinthestream makes a lot of appeal for this Group 3. He cost €135,000 at the Arqana yearling sale last October and immediately repaid that faith when he made a winning debut at the Curragh at the start of June. Despite being slowly away and taking time to settle, he came with a sustained late run to win by a length. That form is nothing out of the ordinary but given the inexperience that he showed on debut and the way the race panned out, the form can certainly be upgraded. He managed to record a top speed figure of 80 at the Curragh, which is amongst the highest figures produced so far by this inexperienced field and if he has learned from his debut, he could well prove to be the best of these.
7:22 Dublin to Bahrain Handicap
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FORT VEGA
This is a competitive 3-year-old handicap but the most exciting prospect in the field is surely Sheila Lavery’s Fort Vega. Already a winner at Gowran and Naas this season, he has looked good value for his official rating of 89 and he is best forgiven his “No Show” in the Britannia Stakes at Royal Ascot when he did too much on the front end of the stands side group and didn’t manage to get home. It is best to put a line through that run and to judge him instead on his Naas win, when he got the better of Broadhurst and Betterdaysrcoming, who are now both rated in the 90s. He is an extremely strong traveller and ought to appreciate the return to a smaller track and going around a bend. From a mark of 89, he looks very well treated and may well end the season in pattern company, in which case he is the proverbial Group horse in a handicap.
7:52 Hipodromo de la Zarzuela Rated Race
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CAPE BRIDGEWATER
Plenty of these 3-year-olds are open to improvement as they step up in distance, but perhaps the more exciting prospect if Cape Bridgewater. Aiden O’Brien’s son of Australia produced a career best performance when winning at Tipperary at the end of May, which coincided with his first run beyond a mile and a half. His pedigree is all stamina and so there should be no issue with the extra furlong here and he does look to be well treated by the weights in this contest. In time, he may well develop into an Ebor or Cesarewitch type, in which case he probably needs to rise a few more pounds in the handicap to get into those contests. Despite being bumped at the start he soon got into a prominent position at Tipperary and having looked through the field, he is likely to be the pace angle in this race too. The track can often favour front runners over the longer trip and on these terms, he may well prove hard to pass.
Selections:
- 5:12 – Ylang Ylang
- 5:47 – Islandsinthestream
- 7:22 – Fort Vega
- 7:52 – Cape Bridgewater
*Prices subject to fluctuation.
