Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
MARY IN THE RUNNING
Charles Byrnes powerful mare can take Irish Cesarewitch in her stride
RUN FOR MARY must be well-fancied to land tomorrow’s Paddy Power Irish Cesarewitch at the Curragh for Charles Byrnes and rising apprentice star Sam Ewing.
A six-year-old mare, she is relatively unexposed, boasts a rock-solid second to last week’s Prix de Cadran heroine Princess Zoe in Galway and has the considerable assistance of 7lb claimer Ewing.
Run For Mary, six-year-old Flemensfirth mare, is a five-time winner – having landed two bumpers and a maiden hurdle in addition to a f lat maiden success at Thurles a year ago and a smooth success i n a n a ma t e u r riders event at
Bellewstown in July.
But it’s her last run, in the valuable Connacht Amateur Handicap, in Galway which really caught the eye.
Ridden from off the pace by trainer’s son Philip, Run For Mary powered through inside the final furlong to finish second, beaten a length and a quarter behind Princess Zoe in a bunch finish.
Run For Mary was conceding 2lb to her conqueror that day. And we all now what Zoe has achieved since then, listed and Group 1 victories. And, tomorrow, the selection races off a 1lb lower mark than at Ballybrit.
The Cesarewitch field includes the last two winners of the race, John Murphy’s
Brazos, not disgraced in Killarney last Sunday, and the Willie Mullins-trained Royal Illusion, a runaway winner of the race 12 months ago and an eye-catching sixth to Halimi in the Petingo at Leopardstown in her prep run. She looks a big threat to all.
Aidan O’brien’s three-year-old Shoshone Warrior, a highly creditable second in the Petingo and one of three rides for title-chasing Colin Keane tomorrow, is another for the short-list, along with the Emmet Mullinstrained pair, topweight Sneaky
Getaway and unexposed Cape Gentleman.