THE ONE AND ONLY
Murphy’s Mine to strike gold in the Ballyogan Stakes renewal
ONLY MINE could be the answer to the Group 3 TRM Ballyogan Stakes at the Curragh this afternoon.
Joe Murphy’s charge stands out on ratings and looks as good as ever on her effort here last month.
On that occasion, the daughter of Pour Moi had to give best to Gordon Lord Byron in the Group 2 Greenlands Stakes.
She was only beaten a length and a half, and that performance also confirmed that she is quite at home on slow ground.
This doesn’t look as strong a race and Only Mine can make up for her defeat in this race last year where she had to settle for third behind Divine.
The other Stakes race on the card is the Listed Silver contest, where a case could be made for quite a few of the runners.
One that makes plenty of appeal is Reckless Gold, who drops down in grade having contested the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup last time out.
Reckless Gold had to settle for sixth behind Decorated Knight that day, but still showed up well against some quality rivals.
That run was his first since last August so he can be expected to improve for the run and slightly slower ground will not be a problem for him.
He is preferred to the smart Laganore, who is looking to build on placed runs behind Turret Rocks and Somehow.
A Group 1-placed runner last season, Laganore will enjoy the ease in the ground and any further rain that falls will work in her favour.
Another to keep in mind is Titus, who looked a potentially high-class sort when he made a winning debut in a Leopardstown maiden last October.
The one-time Classic hopeful accounted for the subsequent Chester Vase scorer Venice Beach at Leopardstown, which makes for good reading.
The day’s handicaps look tricky contests, but Shinghari is one that makes plenty of appeal in the penultimate event on the card.
This lightly raced five-yearold won nicely at Killarney last month and he is now just 5lb higher which doesn’t look too harsh. Furthermore, Shinghari had Sea The Lion back in third at Killarney and that one went on to land a competitive handicap at Navan last weekend.
In the fillies handicap, Oh Grace is chosen to follow up an encouraging run at Leopardstown on Thursday evening.
She found only Spanish Tenor too strong there and a similar effort could enable her to succeed.
Rattling Jewel bolted up in a sprint handicap here on Guineas weekend which will make him a popular choice amongst punters in the fivefurlong handicap.
However, Sors is a former premier handicap winner who enjoys soft ground and his rider claims a very valuable 10lb off his back.