O’brien star to Cleve field behind
JOSEPH RUNS NINE BUT 4-YEAR-OLD HAS QUALITY TO ‘LAND CESAREWITCH
CLEVELAND could be the one to follow in the €600,000 Friends Of The Curragh Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh this afternoon.
The most valuable handicap to be run in Ireland has, as expected, attracted a full field of 30 of which nine hail from the Joseph O’brien yard.
Among these nine is Cleveland who is a lightly raced four-yearold with the capacity to make further progress through the ranks.
Back in May he won the Chester Cup for Aidan O’brien and he then took second in a Royal Ascot handicap the following month before switching to Joseph O’brien.
His debut for that trainer yielded a pleasing second in a Group 3 at Leopardstown last month.
Cleveland is now stepping back up to two miles which will surely suit while he also has a good draw to aid his cause.
He is preferred to the Willie Mullins-trained Echoes In Rain. A former Grade 1 winner over hurdles, she has been kept under wraps for the last two months.
When she was last in action she landed the big amateur rider’s handicap on the opening night of the Galway Festival.
A ten pounds rise in the weights for that victory won’t be enough to stop this mare playing a leading role.
Also Mullins is the man to follow in flat handicaps over this sort of trip and a chance could be given to several other runners from his yard.
These include Lot Of Joy who transferred from Scandinavia to the champion jumps trainer this year and ran very well behind Echoes In Rain at Galway.
Another leading fancy is Aidan O’brien’s Waterville who has crept in at the foot of the weights.
He was costly to follow earlier in the season but won a handicap in good style over this trip in June. He is a horse with more to offer.
Joseph O’brien might also land the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes with Caroline Street who ran very well at Leopardstown a couple of weeks ago.
On that occasion she chased home the well regarded Auguste Rodin and should find things easier now that she returns to fillies only company.
In the Group 3 Renaissance Stakes Art Power is put forward to make it back to back wins in this sprint.
He wasn’t at his best in the Haydock Sprint Cup last time but he is a much better horse than he showed that day.
He comes here off a very light campaign and his comeback at York in August suggested he retained much of his ability.
The rest of the card looks tricky although Amusement makes plenty of appeal in the nursery.
She looks well treated on the pick of her maiden form and she also has first time blinkers to aid her cause.