GO FERR DUNDALK
O’brien’s in form Ballydoyle targets Dundalk double
WHATEVER the fate of his Group 1 performers in Naas today, Aidan O’brien should doubleup with Ferretti and Empire State in Dundalk tomorrow afternoon.
Placed in four of his five juvenile starts, including a neck defeat by stablecompanion Albuquerque at Gowran Park, Empire State, a son of Scat Daddy, should relish a return to the polytrack, where he finished third to Chicas Amigas on his debut in May and was a close third to Excelsius in October, his final juvenile start.
On his seasonal debut at Naas last month, Empire State showed plenty of pace before fading to finish fourth to Western Dawn. So dropping back to the minimum trip, on the polytrack, should hold no fears for the Ballydoyle colt.
Empire State is preferred to Ken Condon’s filly MISTRESS OF VENICE, fourth to Clemmie in the 2017 Duchess Of Cambridge (Group 2) at Newmarket, when trained by James Given but off the track until finishing third to Levee Breaks at Navan two weeks ago.
The second leg of the proposed Ballydoyle double is 81-rated Ferretti, a close second to stable-companion San Andreas at Naas on his third start as a two-year-old in October.
Ryan Moore was on board this War Front colt on his return to action at Naas last month, when he chased the leaders before tiring to finish sixth, beaten over six lengths, behind Wargrave in a seven-furlong maiden.
The winner ran creditably in the Guineas Trial won by Never No More at Leopardstown while the runner-up Basic Law and third National Guard have franked the form with maiden wins at Gowran Park and this venue respectively.
Tomorrow’s task looks more straight forward and Ferretti should triumph for Donnacha O’brien.
The Marshes Shopping Centre Ladies Day Rated Race looks a lot more competitive but affords Fozzy Stack’s EMPIRE LINE a good opportunity to register his second success on the polytrack.
Runner-up three times before opening his account in a seven-furlong maiden on February 1 here, he went down by three-quarters of a length to the progressive filly Beau Warrior last month, form boosted when his conqueror went on to complete a five-timer.
In a tight contest, Empire Line gets the nod over interesting top-weight BURMESE WALTZ and hat-trick-seeking ANNABELLE ROCK.
Stack’s AMERICAN LADY, a daughter of Starspangledbanner, might be worth noting in the two-year-old maiden, if strong in the market, as her trainer’s Yesterdayoncemore shaped with plenty of promise on this track last week.