Juvenile Watch: Curragh tips plus an unraced colt to follow
Our Juvenile expert Ross Millar reveals an unraced youngster to follow, who trainer Dylan Cunha has high hopes for, plus also shares two selections for the Curragh on Sunday where he is taking on two of the hot favourites. Enjoy all of the action at the Irish venue live on Racing TV.
LATE BLOOMERS
Whilst much of the focus in the juvenile division is focussed on early speed and precocity, there are, of course, a large number of colts and fillies that develop at a slower rate.
In ‘late bloomers’, I ask a range of trainers for an unraced juvenile that they are excited by. This week, Dylan Cunha reveals an unraced colt he is very much looking forward to. He said:
"We have ve a decent bunch of two-year-old's, all of which will be winning races next season, if not this. If I had to pick one, I’d go for the Bated Breath colt out of the Nathaniel mare Chamber Maid. He’ll probably just have one run this season, and will come into his own in 2024.
"I’m very keen to start our two-year-old’s careers at Newmarket whenever possible. The lack of travelling is a big plus for the babies and they just seem to enjoy the experience of Newmarket."
Make sure you keep an eye out for this youngster over the coming months!
Irish Champions Festival tips
There is plenty of two-year old action across the weekend, but undoubtedly the highlight of the weekend in this division comes from the Curragh on Sunday.
A race with a rich history which was won in fine style 12 months ago by this year's Irish Guineas victor Tahiyra.
Ylang Ylang will bid to give Aidan O’Brien his eleventh win in this race, and with two comfortable wins from two starts next to her name, she is understandably a short-priced favourite.
However, this contest will be a more serious assignment than either of her previous two starts, and while it’s clear she might simply be too classy for her rivals, I’d prefer to side with a filly at a bigger price.
I find it hard to see how Vespertilio can reverse the form of her last clash with Ylang Ylang. It is true she forfeited ground in the early stages on that occasion, but while she stayed on well in the closing stages, she never truly looked like troubling the ultimately cosy winner.
Rookie sire Too Darn Hot has, after a cool enough start, certainly turned up the heat in the past month, with a number of classy winners to his name. I was really taken by the performance of his daughter, Fallen Angel, when she ran out a ready winner of the Group Three Sweet Solera Stakes at Newmarket on her latest start.
She quickened up smartly in the closing stages and stayed on powerfully through the line. Underestimate her at your peril.
The Frankie Dettori farewell tour could hardly have gone much better, as he’s collected big prize after big prize. In his illustrious career, he’s yet to win this Group One contest, but I fancy that might change this year.
His mount, PORTA FORTUNA, hasn’t put a foot wrong in four starts this term. Two comfortable wins in Ireland preceded a superlative performance in the Albany Stakes at Royal Ascot before she emerged with real credit from the Phoenix Stakes last time out where she only found Bucanero Fuerte too good.
She holds comfortably the best form, so the general 7-1 on offer can only be due to stamina concerns. I didn’t think she was stopping at the end of the Phoenix Stakes, and her dam, Too Precious, was a multiple winner over both ten and twelve furlongs.
She’ll love the quick ground and back against her own sex, she can add to this prize to her already impressive CV.
Selection: Porta Fortuna.
Well, I didn’t see that coming! Aidan O’Brien had suggested, in more than one interview that, City Of Troy and Henry Longfellow would be kept apart, with the former being aimed at this contest, while the latter was destined for the Dewhurst later this month.
Plenty of punters will tie themselves in knots with theories as to why they’ve both ended up here, but I believe that’s simply wasted energy, as Aidan O'Brien has surely only declared Henry Longfellow incase of any last-minute blips with City Of Troy.
As readers of my Juvenile Watch column will know, I’m a big fan of Henry Longfellow and hold an ante-post slip on him for next year's 2000 Guineas.
I do, however, have reservations over whether he would be quite streetwise enough for a test like this at this stage of his development as he’s not come under any real pressure in either of his two starts plus looked green on both occasions.
If he did run here, for whatever reason, I could see him getting out-battled by a more streetwise colt, for all that I think time will show him to be the best out all of the youngsters declared for this contest.
City Of Troy looked wildly impressive on his latest start; he took apart the field in the Superlative Stakes and is a colt of immense talent.
The form of that race has a mixed look, though. Runner-up Haatem won the Vintage Stakes on his next start before failing to fire in the Gimcrack, whilst third-placed Oddyssey was beaten at odds-on in an ordinary maiden on his next start.
That said, it has to be remembered that Aidan O’Brien's colt beat them with a huge amount of ease when dominating at Newmarket.
It could be that he simply blows this field apart in a manner similar to his Newmarket rout, but this looks a deeper contest, and if he has to role his sleeves up, will he have what it takes to beat a colt with a greater breadth of experience?
With four runs and three wins under his belt, Bucanero Fuerte might just have that bit more race experience, and he’s not short on talent, either.
His win in the Phoenix Stakes last time was facile when racing alone up the middle of the track with no cover. He travelled powerfully and the manner in which he stayed on through the line strongly suggested that this extra furlong should hold no fears for him.
His collective level of form can stand him in good stead; he’s officially the highest rated in the field, too, and can prove that assessment to be correct on Sunday.
Selection: Bucanero Fuerte.
