HAPPILY OBLIGE..

O’brien aiming for number eight

HAPPILY looks favourite to give Aidan O’brien an eighth victory in the Tattersalls Irish 1,000 Guineas tomorrow.

The Master of Ballydoyle has come a very long way since Classic Park provided him with a first classic success in this race in 1997.

And he appears to hold the aces again today, with 116-rated

and Qipco 1,000 Guineas third Happily leading his challenge.

Winner of both the Duchess Of Cambridge Stakes (Group 2) and Cheveley Park (Group 1) in Newmarket last season, Clemmie is a real favourite of mine.

But she’s making her seasonal debut today and O’brien has suggested that he’ll be happy if she finishes in the frame, as a launch-pad for the season ahead.

In contrast, Happily started favourite for the Qipco 1,000 Guineas in Newmarket, ran a solid race to finish third behind shock winner Billesdon Brook and Laurens.

With improvement expected, on this more demanding track, Happily should prove very tough to beat.

As a two-year-old Happily won four times, progressing from her maiden success at Leopardstown to land the Silver Flash on the same track and going on to register two notable Group 1 victories later in the season.

She won the Moyglare at the Curragh before beating recent French 2,000 Guineas winner Olmedo and other colts in the Prix jean-luc Legardere at Chantilly. And she can probably be forgiven a below par effort at the Breeders Cup, at the end of a long season.

Supplementary entry

is a realistic contender for Ger Lyons and Colin Keane, seeking their first classic win.

And she holds Kevin Prendergast’s

(third) and the Dermot Weld-trained ( fourth) on that form, although both these fillies finished well from unpromising positions turning for home.

The sole British challenger is Charlie Appleby’s impressive winner of the Nell Gwyn at Newmarket before finishing sixth in the English Guineas, a length and a half behind Happily.

And connections made it known that they thought she was capable of better than that – we’ll see tomorrow.

Of the others, must bounce back from disappointing seasonal debut. a