Dippedinmoonlight

(Emmet Mullins)

Down Royal, August 30th

There didn’t appear to be any hiding place in the concluding winners’ bumper for mares at Down Royal last week, with the experience and quality of Grade 3 runner-up Mozzies Sister coming to the fore. She earned rave reviews from winning connections in the aftermath, with Declan Queally noting: “I haven’t ridden one like her in Curraghmore where we work the horses. We have only had maybe one or two or three like her. She’s very decent.” With that in mind, it was probably a big effort from the well-backed even-money favourite Dippedinmoonlight to fare as well as she did in second, beaten three and three-quarters of a length on her first start since a wide-margin point-to-point win in late May. A €130,000 purchase for Paul Byrne and Emmet Mullins, the Zarak filly has a smart pedigree, being out of a half-sister to the brilliant Goldikova, and the experience she gained here won’t be lost on her. The fact there was plenty of market confidence behind her against previous winners has to be taken as a positive too.

Temperance

(Katie McGivern)

Tipperary, September 1st

There were certainly positives that Katie McGivern’s team can take from the debut showing of Temperance in a two-year-old auction maiden over seven furlongs at Tipperary last Sunday. The Churchill filly, drawn wider than ideal in stall 11, wasn’t the quickest away and showed some signs of greenness in going around the outer of the field to make her challenge. However, the impressive part of her performance was how she finished out her race without being given a terribly hard time once it was clear she wasn’t going to be winning. She clocked the fastest sectionals for the second last and last furlongs while coming home for fifth, beaten four and three- quarter lengths. In fact, she was the only runner in the field to clock under 23.17 seconds for the last two furlongs (22.9 seconds). A €50,000 yearling who went unsold at €60,000 at the breeze-ups, this nicely-bred filly showed she has ability despite finishing out of the frame here.

Little Lady Lucy

(Joseph O’Brien)

Tipperary, September 1st

Nothing got involved from off the pace in the second division of a three-year-old-only handicap over nine furlongs at Tipperary last Sunday. Considering how the race unfolded, and that she was making her handicap debut, Little Lady Lucy ought to be considered a likely future winner for Joseph O’Brien while still remaining in this 47-65 grade. The unexposed €65,000 yearling had been running respectably in maidens without setting the world alight but now appears to be finding her feet in handicap company and ran on well from the mid-field to finish third, beaten two and a half lengths. She was faster than anything else in the race through the final three furlongs and went up 2lb for this effort to a mark of 63. That still looks workable with the possibility of further improvement to come.

Tashir

(Johnny Murtagh)

Gowran Park, September 3rd

It’s been an excellent couple of weeks for Johnny Murtagh, with six winners and three seconds in the space of 14 days, including a Gowran Park double. Tashir made a decent fist of trying to bring up a hat-trick for the trainer, and jockey Ben Coen, at the Kilkenny venue on Tuesday when running a fine race on debut to be second in a seven-furlong maiden. In splitting Aidan O’Brien’s Monumental, who finished second to Group 3 Round Tower Stakes winner Ides Of March on his previous start, and Dante’s Lad, third in a strong-looking Curragh maiden last time, the form looks pretty solid. Racing off the pace, he made lovely headway in the straight to be the quickest through the final two furlongs, and he’s bred to be smart. The Aga Khan homebred, by Kingman, is out of 10-furlong winner Tasalka (peak Timeform rating of 99), a half-sister to listed winner Tarana (also the dam of the same owner’s brilliant Group 1 winner Tarnawa).