With the jumpers slowly grinding back to prominence it will be interesting to see how attractive today's all-flat card at Navan will prove to punters, but those that do show up should get off to a good start with Barr Na Sraide in the opening nursery.
The daughter of Paris House didn't exactly set the world on fire in her first starts and it looked likely to be a similar story at half way in the Birdcatcher when she laboured out the back. However, at the furlong pole, Barr Na Sraide started to cut through the pack. The impressive winner, Romanylei, had flown at that stage but nothing finished better than Barr Na Sraide, and she should be up to winning today.
An interesting runner today is Balla Sola in the Donaghpatrick Race. The Triumph Hurdle runner-up ruined his chance for a valuable hurdle at Listowel before it had even started.
The chestnut ran very freely to post and continued to pull in the early stages, so it was no surprise to see him fade behind Akasian. Rated 99 on the flat, he comes to this 10-furlong race with a perfectly reasonable chance on the book, and Balla Sola is selected to cope with Go For Grace before a possible clash with Istabraq over hurdles on Saturday.
Aidan O'Brien runs three in the Kilcarn Stud Maiden, with Michael Kinane on the Gowran fourth, Slip Sliding. The Thunder Gulch filly was slowly away on her debut and with that experience is marginally preferred to Insneor and the Jim Bolger-trained pair.
John Oxx runs both Eviyrn and Sinndiya in the Clonmellon Maiden. John Murtagh rides the filly, but Eviyrn makes a big hike in trip from his Punchestown debut behind Kilkenny Castle and cannot be discounted. Neither can McCracken, for whom Kinane has been booked to try and get his head in front, but marginal preference is for Sinndiya, who should appreciate the race distance.
The trip of the Carianstown Handicap could be in Eljamil's favour, together with a 3lb pull with Maghas; while the Dundalk winner Society Queen can follow up in the Crosserlough Handicap.
Aidan O'Brien could have as many as three runners in Saturday's Group One Racing Post Trophy at Doncaster, with the Galway winner, Aristotle, the likely main hope.
O'Brien has seven of the 17 entries remaining in the race which include the English supplementaries, Holding Court and Scarteen Fox, as well as the Dewhurst winner Distant Music's stable companion Asaal.
O'Brien's seven include the Dewhust third, Zentsov Streeet, the Grand Criterium winner, Ciro, the Royal Lodge winner, Royal Kingdom, and Saturday's Beresford Stakes scorer, Lermontov.
However, the Ballydoyle trainer said yesterday: "Aristotle is the one we have had in mind for the race for some time and that remains the plan but we might have as many as two others in the race. Aristotle, a Sadler's Wells colt out of the Moyglare winner, Flamenco Wave, has run just the once, when beating Huangdi by four and a half lengths at the Galway festival in July.
