Ortelius

(Aidan O’Brien)

Curragh, August 26th

Having effectively stood in the stalls for a moment as the rest of the field broke, it was quite the debut effort from Ortelius to possibly even lead inside the final furlong and just get edged out by a National Stakes entry. A fine two-year-old by Justify, he failed by a head but should be all the sharper for this experience and looks a maiden winner waiting to happen for Aidan O’Brien. He was entitled to be green and could be a different proposition next time before going into blacktype company. (MB)

Taraj

(Dermot Weld)

Curragh, August 26th

In the same mile maiden, Dermot Weld-trained debutant Taraj shaped with a fair deal of promise too. This son of Churchill was ridden quietly enough and picked his way through the field at the business end to claim fourth, likely to have learned plenty from the nature of how the race unfolded. His best days are surely ahead of him and around seven furlongs or a mile looks his trip, being out of an Oasis Dream mare who won over seven and produced a five-and-a-half-furlong maiden winner. (MB)

Snowcapped

(Jessica Harrington)

The Curragh, August 26th

Snowcapped has had a fine season, scoring twice on her first two starts and attaining blacktype on her penultimate start when third to Library in a Naas listed contest. She was unlucky not to gain a Group 3 placing when fourth to Red Riding Hood in the nine-furlong Snow Fairy Stakes at the Curragh last Saturday, only beaten a length and a quarter, but it was another big step forward from her, as her rating improved a further 6lbs to 100. There seemed to be a lack of pace in the race which meant Colin Keane had her race more prominently than usual and the feeling is she is better served when the pace is hot and she can get into the contest from the back. She is in the Group 2 Blandford Stakes next Sunday but a better option could be the Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies Stakes over an extended nine furlongs at Gowran the following weekend. (RG)

Current Option

(Ado McGuinness)

The Curragh, August 26th

Current Option is going to be a big player in the Sovereign Path next weekend, a race he won four years ago. Not for the first time this season, things didn’t go right for him in the Irish Cambridgeshire as he got short of room at a crucial stage, lost all momentum and that was that. It was a somewhat similar case for the Ahonoora at Galway, where he also lost a shoe and had abrasions on his leg. He is now down to a mark of 92, 11lbs lower than the mark off which he finished third to I’m A Gambler in the Sovereign Path last season. (RG)

Prime Art

(Johnny Murtagh)

Naas, August 27th

Johnny Murtagh is no stranger to nursery winners and his recent Naas fourth might be one to win a nice handicap before the season is out, depending on how she fares on her next start and how the assessor treats her subsequently. Drawn wide in 17 in a seven-furlong fillies’ maiden last Sunday, she wasn’t the only one who struggled to properly land a blow from slightly off the pace and looked as though she should improve with racing. She has been beaten seven lengths and eight and a quarter lengths on her two starts so far but the form of her Curragh debut looks strong. (MB)

Switch From Diesel

(Seamus Fahey)

Ballinrobe, August 28th

The beautifully-bred Baby Kate, out of Grade 1 winner Augusta Kate, showed a likeable attitude to get off the mark at the first attempt in a mares’ bumper at Ballinrobe on Monday and looks another bright prospect to emerge this summer from the Willie Mullins team. There could also be some decent days in store for the connections of runner-up Switch From Diesel, who was pretty solid in the market on debut (SP 6/1) for Seamus Fahey and only just failed by a length. A Yeats filly out of fairly useful mare Is She Diesel for owner-breeder Paul Mullins, she should be good enough to win a similar race before long. (MB)

Deadly Nightshade

(Joseph O’Brien)

Bellewstown, August 29th

There was significant late market support for the Joseph O’Brien-trained Deadly Nightshade on her second start in a 12-furlong fillies’ maiden at Bellewstown on Tuesday, backed from 15/2 to 7/2 in the ring before finishing a staying-on third. Drawn widest of all in stall 12, she possibly ended up further back than ideal and mightn’t have been ideally suited by the demands of the track. She did finish with a rattle to hit the line well in third, though, and should be able to land a maiden of this nature over the coming weeks if progressing as expected. (MB)

Lisabetta

(Tim Doyle)

Bellewstown, August 29th

Lisabetta ran better than her finishing position suggested when seventh to Jazz Dreamers at Bellewstown on Tuesday. Tim Doyle’s mare had to be switched to get a run just before the road and when she looked to be gathering a full head of steam, she got sandwiched between runners. This was her second solid effort in a row - she was fourth previously at Gowran - and while things are tough for her off a mark of 42, as she had to race from 5lbs out of the handicap here, she has shown she can be competitive and may well be able to steal a race when things fall her way. (RG)

Hope And Innocence

(Johnny Murtagh)

The Curragh, August 30th

Hope And Innocence hit the line hard in a seven-furlong handicap on Cork’s round course on Tuesday and Johnny Murtagh’s filly looks worth following now. She had to make her ground wide in the straight but once Ben Coen got serious with her, she really responded and she was only beaten a length and a quarter by Trueba in the end. On this showing, a step back up to a mile could suit her well - two of her best runs this season had come over that trip - and off a mark of 63, she has lots of scope to improve with just eight runs on her book. (RG)

Beautiful Chaos

(Ross O’Sullivan)

Navan, August 31st

Beautiful Chaos looked set to score in a one-mile-six-furlong handicap at Navan, hitting the front late on but once she had dealt with the challenge of Building Bridges on her inside, then came Tory Reel on her outside, and she went down by just a neck in the end, with that front trio pulling clear. The form of this contest looks strong as both Tory Reel and Building Bridges had won over hurdles on their previous starts and looked to be in off comparably favourable ratings back on the flat. Ross O’Sullivan’s mare had previously finished a relatively close seventh to Granville Street over a mile and a half at Galway but this step up in trip seemed to suit her and it will be no surprise if she returns to this course and distance for her next start. (RG)