ALONGSIDE the showpiece Group One Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown on Saturday, the Group One Matron Stakes (4.25pm) headlines the supporting card for the Irish Champions Festival opener.
Run over a mile, it’s attracted a good field of 11 fillies and mares and looks a good betting heat with World Pool in operation.
There are just the two previous Group One winners in here in Cercene and FALLEN ANGEL, and it’s the latter I fancy.
Karl Burke’s filly has a pair of Group One victories to her name on these shores, when winning the Moyglare Stud Stakes on this weekend two years ago, as well as the 2024 Irish 1000 Guineas.
Off the back of that victory, she finished second to the top-class Porta Fortuna in this race last year but did look to lose her way slightly in three subsequent starts.
Sent off a well-backed favourite for the Group One Prix de l’Opera on Arc Day, she could only manage a fourth-placed finish where she didn’t see out her race to the effect we’d been used to witnessing from her.
Subpar efforts at Newbury and Royal Ascot followed, but she bounced right back to form when last seen at Deauville in the Group One Prix Rothschild.
She was tough at the finish that day, rallying to see off the reopposing January.
I fancy her to uphold that form with the Ballydoyle runner and I’ll be backing her in the World Pool Win market.
The Listed Ingabelle Stakes (2.15pm) kicks off proceedings on Saturday, and we could see a superstar in the form of DIAMOND NECKLACE.
She was neglected on debut by retained rider Ryan Moore, and looked an unlikely winner in running, however she quickly got the idea of things at the business end, knuckling down to land a comfortable victory.
That would have taught her a lot, and we will likely see a far improved and polished performance from a filly who looks to be going places.
It’s hard to see past her from a win perspective, so it may be worth combining her in a World Pool Quinella.
The Gavin Cromwell pair BROWNSTOWN and MIGHTY DANU must be of interest if so.
The former was a decisive winner on debut on soft ground, she gets that once again, whereas Mighty Danu falls into the ‘could be anything’ category after she overcame greenness to win on debut.
The three look worth perming together in a Quinella, in the hope of a nice payout if we can find the first two home.
POINTERS SATURDAY
Diamond Necklace, Brownstown, Mighty Danu (Quinella) 2.15pm Leopardstown
Fallen Angel (Win) 4.25pm Leopardstown