UNDER ORDERS
Ascot Gold Cup hero looks the business in the Vintage Crop
TOP stayer Order Of St George is chosen to make a winning return to action in the Group 3 Vintage Crop Stakes at Navan.
The five-year-old lacks the advantage of a recent outing and Aidan O’brien’s older horses often tend to progress very well from their reappearance runs.
However, Order Of St George boasts a level of form that is in a different league to his opponents and it is worth noting that he did win first time out last season. A runaway winner of the 2015 Irish St Leger, this son of Galileo was just as good last season when he bagged the Ascot Gold Cup.
Perhaps his best run came in defeat and that saw him finish an excellent third to Found in last season’s Arc de Triomphe.
There is nothing in the field that can match that level of form which makes Order Of St George the clear choice.
Torcedor trounced Twilight Payment and Forgotten Rules in a Leopardstown conditions race earlier this month.
That effort makes him a contender, but Twilight Payment is now 7lb better off at the weights and he should be all the better for that run.
It wouldn’t come as a surprise if Twilight Payment emerged as the biggest danger to Order Of St George.
Earlier, the card plays host to a cracking three-year-old sprint where a case could be made for a host of the runners.
Among these is Psychedelic Funk, who looked very good in winning his first two outings last season.
He also finished a fine third in the Coventry Stakes and chased home the Group 1 performer Peace Envoy, before running well below form in the National Stakes.
A return to his earlier efforts would make this Ger Lyons inmate the one to beat. He has plenty to fear from Son Of Rest, who was an impressive winner of a Cork maiden on his return to the fray two weeks ago and also finished in front of Psychedelic Funk when the pair met in September.
Another to keep in mind is Alphabet, who outclassed her rivals in a Naas maiden last month.
The Listed Salsabil Stakes looks a tricky affair, with the vote going to John Oxx’s Bengala. This filly was a narrow winner of a Leopardstown maiden on her debut, but did well to come from the rear of the field.
She looks a classy sort and should cope with the step up to this grade.
Not many of the runners appeal in the apprentice handicap, but the reliable Doonard Prince stands out on his recent efforts. Althiba’s comeback earns her the nod in the three-year-old handicap, while the unexposed All Body And Soul can land the finale.