Irish Lincolnshire Meeting: Cotton wool comes off Fluff

No sooner does the Cheltenham Festival finish, than the Flat season starts. Well, it does in Ireland at least as the Curragh staged the Group 3 Park Express Stakes and the Irish Lincolnshire Handicap, which comes a little earlier this year (took place on 29 March in 2015). 

The meeting starts, however, with the first two-year-old race in Ireland and Britain. Two trainers have been responsible for five of the last seven winners, with Jim Bolger saddling the winners in 2011, 2012 and 2013, including the future 2000 Guineas winner Dawn Approach, and Kevin Prendergast scoring in 2009 and 2014, including with the subsequent Group 1-runner Beach Belle. Bolger saddles Intensely Focussed this year, while Predergast runs Tawaleef.

Richard Fahey runs six horses on the card, including one in the sprint maiden that comes up after the two-year-old race, namely Paddy Power. The trainer has presumably been a bit disappointed with the gelding so far, given he reportedly works very well at home, and he’ll be expecting him to go close here. The Moore Factor – Ryan Moore, perhaps? – is another interesting contender on his first start for Dermot Weld.

Both Fahey and Weld have a good chance of winning the third race, a competitive print handicap, with the former saddling Patrick and the latter running Katamavik. Both are relatively lightly raced geldings, though they may struggle to withstand another unexposed type in Laganore who appeals as the sort to take big strides in handicaps this year.

Aidan O’Brien has saddled the runner-up in the Park Express Stakes, a mile race for fillies and mares, four times since he won it with Kitty O’Shea in 2005. O’Brien runs a fascinating filly in this year’s race in the form of Fluff, who made a winning debut as a three-year-old in a big-field at Navan last April and held plenty of big-race entries but failed to run again. The Timeform ratings are headed by Godolphin’s Devonshire who finished third in the Irish 1000 Guineas last year. Also keep an eye on Glamorous Approach as she could develop into an Oaks filly.  

Tommy Stack won the Irish Lincolnshire 12 months ago – the trainer nearly always makes a bright start to the season – with Onenightidreamed, and the same horse is back for more this time around. He ran just once more in 2015, winning the Group 3 Amethyst Stakes, and will be a likely player in this race for all he’ll carry top weight (15 lb more than last year). The ratings are headed by Aussie Valentine who appears to have been deserted by Chris Hayes in favour of the other horse owned by Robert Ng and trained by Paul Deegan, Sruthan. Richard Fahey saddles three horses as he bids to land the €59,000 first prize, with Barry McHugh on Gabrial’s Kaka, Michael Hussey on Spring Offensive and impressive young apprentice Adam McNamara on Withernsea.

Finally, there’s also the Ballydoyle gallops after racing which will may well feature such classic prospects as Air Force Blue, Minding and Ballydoyle.