Fairy hard to doubt Yulong
THE Dermot Weld-trained Yulong Gold Fairy might prove best in the Group 3 Coolmore Stud Fairy Bridge Stakes in Tipperary.
Winner of the listed Corrib Stakes at Galway last time, Leigh Roche’s mount is closely matched with the Johnny Murtaghtrained Lightening Quick on Irish 1,000 Guineas form behind Alpha Centauri.
Only a head separated the two fillies on that occasion in May, when they finished fifth and sixth respectively. Since then, they have one run each, Yulong scoring in Galway while Lightening Quick filled fourth behind Xenobia in the Group 3 Brownstown Stakes at Fairyhouse.
Aidan O’brien’s Could It Be Love, disappointing since finishing a creditable second to Alpha Centauri in the Guineas, is in the field again, along with stable-companion I Can Fly, a listed winner at Killarney last week and a couple of British raiders, notably the William Haggas-trained One Master.
Dermot Weld also has prospects with Tarnawa, off the track since scoring on debut at Leopardstown in October, in the Meadowvale Stables Race.
Having his first run since his campaign in Dubai in the winter/spring, Darren Bunyan’s Hit The Bid returns to action in the listed Kilfrush Stud Abergwaun Stakes, his prep run for the Flying Five, now a Group 1 at the Curragh on Champions Weekend. His Meydan form, including a third behind Ertijaal and Blue Point, looks rock-solid.
Rated 110, he sets the standard in a difficult-tosolve 15-runner contest, in which Different League might prove the biggest threat.