THERE is no more experienced two year old in today's Group Three C L Weld Park Stakes at the Curragh than the Jim Bolger trained Azra who in nine outings has won four times and was placed twice most recently finishing just over a length behind Desert King and the English colt Referendum in the Group One Aga Khan Studs National Stakes.
Aidan O'Brien runs John Magnier's Moon Flower and Melleray and the former will stay every yard having won over a mile on her debut at Gowran Park.
That was not a bad effort and she will be the better for the experience. However, Christy Roche has now elected to ride Melleray.
Absolute Glee got up in the last stride to short head Sublime Beauty at Tralee but Azra, who might have been sent for the Cheveley Park Stakes, does have the best credentials.
The Irish Cesarewitch is wide open. The Willie Mullins trained Radanpour certainly caught the eye in a bumper at Listowel where he quickened away from two furlongs out to beat the course winner Moscow Express by 13 lengths.
Radanpour had previously finished fourth behind Helsingor in a Tralee maiden but that was over a distance well below his best. The 15 length winner of a bumper at Tramore back in May, this improving four year old could be hard to beat.
Successful with Montelado in last year's race Pat Flynn runs Gan Saru who while winning on firm ground would appreciate some ease. He has enough weight for a three year old but having won his maiden over 10 furlongs at Roscommon followed up with 12 furlong handicap wins at Tralee and Galway, on the latter occasion carrying top weight to a narrow success.
The ground was against him at Galway but while he does not perform in spectacular fashion he stayed on stoutly in his last two races suggesting today's trip will be ideal. I believe he is a good, well bred horse and his dam Ravaro won this race.
Notcomplainingbut was a very easy winner of a premier handicap over this distance at Tralee, beating Miltonfield by four and a half lengths with Theatreworld a remote fourth.
The latter probably needed that race and unlike the winner was not suited to the soft ground. Theatreworld subsequently came into his own with a comprehensive win from Mystical City over two miles at Listowel.