TONY Keenan’s column on page eight of your newspaper today features a deep dive into stable switchers and which trainers it might pay to follow with new recruits taken from other yards.

Emmet Mullins doesn’t feature in the table, as he hasn’t gathered a big enough number of stable switchers as of yet, but needless to say, he has already developed a highly respected reputation with horses switching to his string.

Ulster Derby (4.25) contender Malbay Madness could be the latest switcher he prospers with. He runs in Mullins’ own colours but is part-owned by his equally shrewd business partner Paul Byrne.

It’s always worth trying to see what they’ve seen. Malbay Madness was previously with Eddie Linehan, and progressed nicely last year as a juvenile, before running a notably big race to finish third in a Listowel nursery won by Lord Massusus, while competing from all of 15lb out of the handicap.

If you watch the race back, he took a stumble at the mid-way point, before staying on well to take third, only beaten a length and a half.

“That is why we liked him,” Mullins told The Irish Field. “He was doing things he shouldn’t be doing, running from 15lb out of the handicap. He had been progressing well before that run, winning at Killarney and finishing second at Naas, so we thought he was going in the right direction.”

The son of Wings Of Eagles has continued that progression, as on his seasonal debut and sole run for Mullins so far, he finished second to the Aidan O’Brien-trained Canute in the Royal County Handicap over 10 furlongs at Navan, the pair of them pulling clear of a good field.

“I’d say we probably bumped into a good one there - I see he is well fancied at Royal Ascot tomorrow as well (5.35),” said Mullins.

“It was still a big run from our horse first time out, and we came clear with Aidan’s horse so it could be strong from. We’d just be hoping that this doesn’t come too soon for him but he’s in good form. Hopefully he will handle the step up in trip [to one mile and five furlongs].”

Another stepping up in trip is Noel Meade’s Pearl Of Australia, who looked all of a stayer when strongly seeing out his 10-furlong maiden at Roscommon. He has a mark of 81 for his handicap debut and his trainer feels that is a fair assessment.

“He is a nice horse,” Meade said. “He won well at Roscommon over a mile and a quarter and now we’re going up to an extened mile and a half - hopefully he does stay and we think he has a great chance to.

“It’s a three-year-old handicap with a good pot, we have Leigh Roche on him again and I think his mark is grand, so we’re more than happy to have a go.”

In a typically competitive renewal, the most intriguing horse in the race is the Michael Bell-trained Ibrahimovic, who makes the trip over from Newmarket for only his fourth start and after a good run to go close to winning at Salisbury.

Bell’s last runners in Ireland came on Irish Champions Weekend in 2021, and his last winner was Stone Circle in the Tattersalls Super Auction race on the same weekend in 2019.