RACING: A faultless bay yearling colt by Danehill out of Welsh Love captured the headlines on this week last year when topping the Orby Sale at Goffs.
Then he fetched £2.1 million or three times as much as did this year's sale topper. Now bearing the name Balestrini, and racing for the partnership of Michael Tabor and Mrs John Magnier, he makes his debut in the opening event at Gowran Park today where it will be up to him to prove that he has ability to match his appearance and pedigree.
His dam is already the producer of six winners, the star being Second Empire who was Ireland's champion two-year-old in 1997 and whose own first crop will be racing next season.
Aside from the Ballydoyle team, the most active of the buyers this week was Sheikh Hamdan Al Maktoum and he should provide the racecourse opposition here in the shape of the Dermot Weld-trained Mandhoor who ran well behind Van Nistelrooy when both were newcomers at the Curragh.
If Balestrini should prove the better, Sheikh Hamden will have the consolation that he bought the half-brother by Peintre Celebre on Wednesday for only €220,000.
Aidan O'Brien and Michael Kinane should also win the second division of the European Breeders Fund Maiden with Chevalier. This was a clever choice of name by Mrs Magnier seeing that his dam is a mare called Magic Legend. He was runner-up to New South Wales at the Curragh and now opposes Allied Victory who was beaten a head only by another Ballydoyle youngster, Russia, over a mile at Thurles last week.
When the first list of declared runners and jockeys were issued by Horse Racing Ireland yesterday morning Philip Fenton was down to ride both Find The King and Golovin in the Thomastown Qualified Riders' Race, but he has given his own tip by selecting Find The King who is now proving as useful on the flat as over hurdles.
An attempted gamble on Christy Roche's You Littkle Daisy came unstuck in yestertday's bumper but Botticino can put the ledger right today after showing promise back in the early part of the year.
Tony McCoy rode a 2.6 to 1 treble at Ludlow yesterday. His winning mounts were Bongo Fury (8 to 13 favourite) Iorana (1 to 3 favourite) and Interdit ( 8 to 11 favourite.
