Curragh Report:Class and courage make the perfect thoroughbred cocktail and Finsceal Beo proved she has plenty of both with a narrow victory in the Boylesports Irish 1,000 Guineas at the Curragh yesterday.
A neck defeat of the 66 to 1 outsider Dimenticata meant Jim Bolger's star filly became just the second horse to complete the Newmarket-Curragh Guineas double, but the result also managed to leave a sense of what might have been.
Only the head that Darjina beat her by at Longchamp two weeks ago prevented an unprecedented clean sweep of Europe's major 1,000 Guineas prizes by Finsceal Beo and the proximity of the three races to each other was exercising Bolger's mind yesterday. "It shouldn't be beyond the capabilities of the European planners to have two weeks between the three classics. That would make it a real triple crown," he said.
Just as in France, rain before the race made the going softer than ideal, and prevented a repeat of Finsceal Beo's spectacular Newmarket rout, but this time she managed to hold off her final challenger.
"She's the best filly I've trained at a mile but she is not quite as good on that sort of ground as she is on better," said Bolger who will consult with jockey Kevin Manning before deciding if Finsceal Beo remains racing a mile or is upped in trip.
"If we stay at a mile the Coronation Stakes at Ascot is a possibility but if we go to a mile and a quarter we may run in the Pretty Polly or some such race," he said.
Kevin Prendergast rued an ordinary early pace for Dimenticata and said: "They didn't go fast enough. She would have been better with a better pace."
The pair could clash again in the Coronation at Royal Ascot and Notnowcato and Dylan Thomas could also clash once more in the Prince Of Wales Stakes next month after an epic duel for the Tattersalls Gold Cup that saw Michael Stoute's raider beat the 1 to 2 favourite by a head.
John Murtagh was at his strongest on Notnowcato and Evelyn De Rotschild, representing the winning owners, said: "It was a wonderful ride by a wonderful jockey. We beat Dylan Thomas at York last year and he is improving all the time."
The rain showers were hardly ideal for the favourite but Aidan O'Brien said: "He has run a great race and I'm not going to make excuses. We will take him home and see how he is."
O'Brien and jockey Seamus Heffernan did hit the mark in the Group Three Airlie Stud Gallinule Stakes with Alexander Of Hales who was half a length too good for his stable companion Spanish Harlem.
"He is in the French Derby next Sunday so we will have to see how he is," said O'Brien who is still finalising his Derby plans for both Epsom and Chantilly this weekend. "The only one definitely going to France is Chinese Whisper but we will have to see about the rest. We will probably run a few at Epsom but a lot will depend on the way the ground goes," he added.
The Jim Bolger-Kevin Manning team could have unearthed another star filly in Saoirse Abu who earned 20 to 1 quotes for next year's 1,000 Guineas when landing the six-furlong maiden by four lengths.
Cockney Rebel became just the sixth horse, and the first since Rock Of Gibraltar in 2002, to complete the Newmarket-Curragh 2,000 Guineas double on Saturday and his ultimate target will now be to try to do what the Rock couldn't do and land the Breeders' Cup Mile.
The Geoff Huffer-trained colt will however first attempt to add the St James's Palace Stakes at Royal Ascot next month.
The Queen Elizabeth II Stakes and the Juddmonte International over 10 furlongs at York in August are other possible Group One targets for Cockney Rebel who beat Creachadoir and He's A Decoy by a length on Saturday.
