PROKOFIEV TO PROFIT!
Sergei can bag O’brien win No.17
IRISH RACING
Only six horses go to post for the first top level event of the year for twoyear-olds in Europe, but this looks a very interesting renewal.
O’brien supplies four of the runners, but they are pitted against the highclass English colt Advertise.
The Martyn Meade-trained runner, who is looking to become the first English-trained winner of this race since 1997, boasts strong claims.
On his penultimate outing he was an excellent second to Calyx in the Coventry Stakes at Royal Ascot, where he finished a neck in front of Sergei Prokofiev.
Advertise then looked to take a step forward from that run when bolting up in the Group 2 July Stakes at Newmarket.
That level of form entitles him to the utmost respect, but slight preference is for his old rival.
At Ascot, Sergei Prokofiev ran a fine race to take third in the Coventry, but he left the impression that he could easily progress further. It is worth taking the chance he has more to offer and he does have very little to find with Advertise.
In the Group 3 Phoenix Sprint Stakes, O’brien could also be the man to follow with Spirit Of Valor.
This four-year-old has yet to win this season, but he has run some solid races in defeat and he wasn’t beaten far when sixth in the Group 2 Lennox Stakes at Goodwood last week.
This is an easier assignment than some of those he has faced recently and his second to Merchant Navy in the Greenlands Stakes in May is a very strong piece of form.
Elsewhere on the card, the Sheila Lavery-trained Lady Kaya is the choice in the two-year-old fillies’ conditions race.
She hasn’t run for two months, but she looked a fine prospect on her debut when finishing third to Decrypt in a useful six-furlong maiden at this track. If she can stretch out to this longer trip she will take beating.
The opening two-year-old maiden looks a good opportunity for Rockview Spirit, while Lethal Power is a progressive type and is a confident choice in the concluding mile handicap.