HITTING THE CROSSBAR

Tony Keenan is hoping for a bit more luck for his team this season

Last season’s Flat horses to follow list turned out to be a collection of some of 2015’s more frustrating types,tending to run well in defeat rather than winning. They ran 56 times in all, winning 10 races, to a level stakes loss of 10.5 points with Dermot Weld’s Silwana the star with three wins including at 8/1 and 5/1.

I thought the Irish three-year-old fillies were a strong crop but settled on the wrong ones to follow; Lucida was arguably unlucky in all three of her Group 1 runs while Found took until the Breeders’ Cup in October to win her second top level contest. Captain Cullen was the ultimate cliff horse, winning twice but probably after most punters had deserted him, while Endless Drama improved at least 20lb but failed to win though he did come second in the Irish Guineas and remains one to follow. Let’s hope for a little more luck with this year’s ten.

AINIPPE (4yo filly, G Lyons)

My fanboy status with Ger Lyons is wellestablished at this stage; I love both his forthright views on Irish racing and his training methods with Ainippe proving a fine advert for the latter in 2015. The daughter of Captain Rio had looked a speedball at two when winning twice over five furlongs and there were doubts about her ability to train on. But not only did she train on, she improved in winning a pair of Group 3s including the Brownstown Stakes from Majestic Queen who has thriving at the time.

She finished her season with an excellent third in the Matron behind a pair of Group 1 fillies which proved her trainer’s brave call to supplement her correct;it certainly didn’t look an ideal race beforehand over a trip she was unproven at and on ground softer than ideal. That effort gives her a host of options in 2016 and while Group 1s may prove beyond her there are plenty of opportunities in lesser pattern races. That Lyons convinced Qatar Racing to buy into her won’t do him any harm either given their powerful bloodstock presence.

AIR FORCE BLUE (3yo colt, A O’Brien)

He’s about the most obvious horse around to follow but leaving the Champion Juvenile off the team would be opposing him for the sake of it and there’s every chance he carries all before him in 2016.There was a lot of style about Air Force Blue last season, impressing with his cruising speed and finishing kick but he has substance too;he did some excellent times, notably on a sectional basis,and Timeform rate him the best two-year-old Aidan O’Brien has trained.

Some of my research suggests that short-priced horses like him can be underrated by the market these days and one can certainly see him drifting on the day of the Guineas given the typical shape of Saturday markets so he might present a betting proposition on occasion. In any case, he’s one to enjoy.

CAILIN MOR (4yo filly, M Halford)

Having caught the eye on a couple of occasions early last season, Cailin Mor was on her way to becoming frustrating before an impressive win at the Curragh in August