Our Katie Girl

(Ger Keane)

Navan, September 7th

It was a pleasing first start for the Ger Keane-trained Our Katie Girl when a never-dangerous fourth behind more experienced rivals in a mile maiden for fillies at Navan last weekend. She was ridden quietly by Colin Keane and ought to have learned plenty from the education she received here, keeping on well enough while still shaping as though she’d improve for the run. She actually clocked the fastest individual furlong of any horse in the race, as per Coursetrack’s sectional times, when clocking 11.33 seconds through the third last furlong. This Caravaggio filly, who fetched €25,000 as a yearling, is bred to be useful as a half-sister to Galway Hurdle scorer Nurburgring (due to run at Irish Champions Festival this weekend). Her best siblings have tended to improve with age, so that’s encouraging for the three-year-old filly.

Harseva

(Ger Keane)

Navan, September 7th

From the same stable on the same card, Harseva looks a likely winner before the season is out after getting closer to the target when third in a 10-furlong handicap. This was only two days after she was withdrawn from an intended start at Clonmel when getting loose beforehand, so it’s not as though she had the ideal preparation coming here (also missed her previous target last month due to a stone bruise). The right horses came to the fore here - it was a solid race for a low grade - and she came there to win her race only to find a couple of in-form rivals too good. She pulled two and a half lengths clear of the fourth and was returning from nearly two months off the track, so progress is certainly possible. A 1lb rise to 56 still leaves her in a decent place with the handicapper.

Minella Boss

(John Nallen)

Galway, September 10th

There was no living with the exceptionally well-bred Trinity College for Ballydoyle in the opening two-year-old maiden over an extended mile at Galway on Tuesday - a race won by the same stable’s Grosvenor Square, Kyprios and Sovereign in recent years. While the 12-length margin of victory means it’s hard to get wildly carried away with what was behind him, it was clearly a bright beginning to the career of runner-up Minella Boss, a Golden Horn debutant (out of a Galileo mare) who cost €55,000 as a yearling. He was nibbled at in the market beforehand and was quite green at times during the first half of the race but there’s no question he finished out strongly when the penny began to drop in the straight. In fact, he and the winner were the only two runners to see out the final furlong with a sub-13 second sectional. He’s got plenty of potential.

Famed Again

(Tom Cooper)

Galway, September 10th

Famed Again was the subject of a bit of an early plunge two starts ago at Navan, backed from 28/1 and possibly bigger down to 5/2 for a sprint maiden before easing back out to 14/1 at the off and finishing well down the field. The Tom Cooper-trained two-year-old gave much more of an indication why someone felt she was worthy of support when a close-up third in a seven-furlong median sires maiden at Galway on Tuesday, shaping with a fair deal of promise in defeat. She seemed to get away well but was taken back off the pace as she went up in trip. The Far Above filly picked up really smartly between rivals in the straight to be only beaten a length and three-quarters, clocking the fastest sectionals for any runner in the line-up through both the third last and second last furlong, according to Coursetrack’s figures. She’s now eligible for nursery company so it’ll be interesting to see how the handicapper treats her. This was encouraging.