LEOPARDSTOWN’S October meetings can throw up decent backend juveniles and, since 2020 alone, subsequent Group 1 winners like Bolshoi Ballet, Poetic Flare and Duke De Sessa have won on these cards along with numerous other lower-level stakes winners, and that is without getting into the weeds of those that were beaten on the day.

Last Saturday’s juvenile-only card was an interesting one to assess, due to there being a number of strongly-run races along with a possible track bias, where the ground on the outside looked favoured. The winner that went against both of those patterns was Twain, who made all, while racing hard around the inner from stall three.

There are positives with him – he was first-time-out and readily beat opponents with solid form – but he was also sent off 28/1. He had no big entries, but has been supplemented to the mile Group 1 at Saint-Cloud tomorrow.

He got loose on the lead in the slowest of three seven-furlong races on the card and seemed to win the race in the fifth furlong, when he took upwards of two lengths out of the rest, his closing two furlongs no faster than the four that chased him home.

Perhaps it was the case that the other jockeys were watching each other, fearful of going too hard as had happened in previous races, whereas Mark Crehan was having his first ride on the card and didn’t have those preconceptions.

Star performer

Exactly was the star performer on Saturday’s card, backing up quickly after her Marcel Boussac third to win the Killavullan, while it might also be worth being positive on the maiden-winning performances of Serious Contender and Just Before.

Both of those raced on or close to strong paces and showed good attitudes to repel rivals coming from behind and the way they thrived in races like this suggests further will suit next season.

I would also be interested in those horses that got drawn into going harder than ideal early before racing around the inner in the straight, that the natural route to take when leading at the turn-in, as those sorts faced a double negative.

Highbury See See made much of the running in the Serious Contender race and did well to last as long as he did, while racing keenly, finishing sixth in the end. Runninsonofagun, fourth in the closing nursery, shaped similarly, hanging in until late, in a race where the three that beat him came from off the pace.

Another to keep in mind, perhaps for a Dundalk winter maiden given her trainers, is Banner Beauty for Michael Halford and Tracey Collins. She raced close to the pace and was also down the inner, travelling well for much of the race, and only beaten a length.

Improvement

She might be missed a little in a race full of big pedigrees, but given her trainers tend to take their time with juveniles, there should be improvement to come.

The final one with that profile that shaped well was Wemightakedlongway, third in the Eyrefield, travelling as well as any on the pace and passed late by two that came wide and late.

I found it surprising that Dylan Browne McMonagle picked her of the three stable runners, as she had achieved less than Sigh No More and Emit, but while she was beaten, that decision seemed vindicated not only with how she ran, but also with how her Cork maiden form worked, the second and third from that race both winning on this card.

Furthermore, Joseph O’Brien seemed more bullish about her post race than the winner Sigh No More, saying that ‘she’ll be a smasher for next year’, not the sort of comment he typically makes.

IT may have been a day for champions at Ascot last Saturday, but the Sunday in Ireland was definitely one for the small trainers, with a number of wins for some lower profile operations.

Patrick Magee – who had had just two winners on the flat all year – landed the October Handicap with Arch Enemy, who was 7lb out of the handicap, while George Kingston had the third who was 12lb wrong, winning the last with the thriving Pimstrel.

Ciaran Murphy landed an across-the-card double with Miss Dishy and Titanium, while Eric McNamara won the feature of the entire day with Real Steel in the Munster National.

Real Steel faced a depleted field – there were five non-runners due to unsuitable ground, not including reserves, and that pattern was repeated throughout the card – and the lack of depth in the race highlighted by the favourite Horantzau d’Airy being sent off 13/8.

That one had finished runner-up in the Kerry National, ahead of Real Steel in ninth, but he had to settle for second again as the McNamara horse reversed form, with tactics playing a big part.

Like Flooring Porter at Listowel, the winner was able to gradually build the pace from the front, his time from the last fence back to the same point 13.4 seconds quicker second than first time around, with his excellent jumping proving a major asset.

Still, this was an excellent training performance. Real Steel had been a dual Grade 2 winner when trained by Willie Mullins, but lost his way completely after moving to England before being bought by his current trainer for £27,000 in May 2022, with hopes hardly much higher than he might win a small race somewhere.

Since then, he has won a Paddy Power Chase, placed in the same race again and won a Munster National at the age of 11, such wins rare.

Typically, about one horse aged 11 or older wins a valuable Irish handicap chase each year; there was one a year each year from 2020 to 2023, with two so far this year.

McNamara also had fourth, the 10-year-old Falco Blitz, who cost £13,000 when sold out of the Nicky Henderson yard, while his next project of this type could be Embittered, who runs in the same colours as Real Steel.

Embittered \ Healy Racing

He ran down the field in the same race on Sunday, but shaped better than his eighth place, moving into the race from rear at a time when the pace was quickening before flattening out over a trip that stretches him.

He is now 2lb lower than his last win, which came in a good race at Navan last December.

DERMOT Weld has had a disappointing 2024 judged solely on overall numbers, with 24 winners from 239 flat runners in Ireland and Britain this year, his second lowest tally in the last 15 calendar years. The second half of the year (from July to present) has been particularly trying, with nine winners from 144 runners.

The retirement of Oaks winner Ezeliya was a blow, but despite all this Weld has managed to maintain a fine record in group/listed race with nine wins from 39 runners, eight of them coming via fillies, six of them unique winners.

The most recent of those came with Elizabeth Jane in the Trigo Stakes last Sunday and she looks one to consider for good races in 2025. She won impressively on testing ground first-time-out on this card last year, but things have not gone smoothly this year, only making her return in late June, then a fine fourth in the Irish Oaks on her third run, before disappointing in the Blandford.

This came at a time when the yard was not firing and Sunday was a positive step with testing ground suiting, something her pedigree (Dubawi out of Sapphire) points to. Twelve furlongs should see her in even better light next year and perhaps her trainer will be proved correct.