Naas Racecourse Preview… 28/06/2023
Royal Ascot may be over, but the Flat season is not yet past the halfway point and as we begin the countdown to the Irish Derby this weekend, we have an evening card at Naas to get stuck into this Wednesday. The card includes the Irish Oaks trial, which is the feature race at 7:00 and our team have looked at that Listed contest, as well as 2 other selections on the card.
6:00 Tinnakill House Maiden
Our first selection comes along in the third race at 6:00 which is a maiden over the extended 5-furlong trip. Neither of the newcomers look particularly appealing on debut so it should be a relatively straight forward task to work through the form. It is never an easy task for the Fillies to race against the Colts and Geldings, but both Danvers Gold and Nelda do make some appeal. The former is a daughter of the Super Sprint winner Mrs Danvers and although she disappointed on her latest start at the Curragh, that was her first run since June 2022 and she did race on the far side of the track, which seemed to be against the bias. She can be forgiven that run, although the strength of that form is open to question, but she may well outrun her odds if the market has overreacted to that 7th placed finish last time. Nelda made a very pleasing start to her career at Listowel 3-weeks ago, staying on well having been initially outpaced. That was a Fillies maiden, she shaped like a Filly who will be better suited to a stiff finish like Naas and of the 2, she looks the more likely to progress.
However, even with the Fillies allowance, it is a lot to ask for either of them to take on the Colts and Geldings at this stage of their careers and so our preference is for Pier Pressure. A €165,000 yearling by Kingman, he finished second on his only previous start on the track in a maiden at this track last September. He was sent off a 6/4 favourite for that debut, which perhaps shows the high regard in which he was held by his connections and although he has been absent since, he still holds a lot of appeal. The 3rd, 4th and 6th form his Naas debut have all won races in the interim and if he builds on that debut, it may well be enough to win this.
7:00 Al Shira’aa Racing Irish EBF Naas Oaks Trial (Listed)
Although Aiden O’Brien has managed to win 6 of the last 11 renewals of this race, neither Lambada or Library look to be improving sufficiently to be able to hold off a field of exciting and unexposed fillies. Joseph O’Brien has the more interesting pair. Maxux looked very promising when winning by 4-lengths on debut at Gowran Park last time, whilst it was hard not to be impressed by the way Shamwari ran behind Tower of London on just her second start at Leopardstown. Both are capable of any amount of improvement, but after his superstar filly Tahiyra did the business at Ascot last week, Dermot Weld may well enjoy more success here with Mashia.
After winning on debut here in May, she improved to finish 2nd to Moon de Vega in a conditions race at Gowran 3 weeks later. She shaped like a Filly who would appreciate stepping up in trip and the winner has boosted that form by winning a Listed race at Leopardstown on her next start. She probably ran to a mark of around 95 at Gowran and if she finds further improvement, which seems highly likely, she could well be capable of making a winning start in pattern company.
8:30 Racing with Pride (C&G) Maiden
This doesn’t look to be the deepest maiden and given that Livio Milo has had plenty of chances, he is readily opposed with Shayzann. Trained by Johnny Murtagh, he made a solid start to his career when 4th on debut at Gowran Park in May. After being supported in the market, he made good late progress from mid-division, passing through horses under an educational ride to finish a 3-length fourth. The form of that maiden has yet to be fully tested, but the race was truly run in a decent time and there is enough evidence to suggest that it was at least as strong as this race. Johnny Murtagh has had a superb start to the 2023 season and looks to have found a good opportunity for Shayzann to get his head in front.
