On the eve of Shahtoush's Yorkshire Oaks challenge, her stable-mate Kitza bravely upheld the quality of this year's Irish filly Classics. She had been second to Tarascon in the Irish 1,000 Guineas and to Winona in the Irish Oaks but surpassed either performance when taking on Group One older opposition at York and finishing a close fourth in the Juddmonte International Stakes.
An Irish gamble on Coliseum in the Deploy Acomb Stakes came unstuck when he was beaten by Auction House. The pair finished well clear of the other runners and Coliseum, who had a quiet introduction at the Curragh on his debut behind Globe Theatre, showed the lack of a competitive run losing his place as the pace quickened.
Pat Hughes, currently lying second to Frances Crowley in the 1998/99 Irish national hunt season, has his horses performing at the peak of their ability and Polenka, who won at Dundalk on Sunday, returns there for another nine-furlong handicap this evening with a bright chance of a repeat win. She was competing in a higher grade handicap when flooring the odds-on Colombian Green.
John Murtagh takes over the ride and becomes the ninth jockey in 10 starts to ride the filly this year.
This could be the second leg of a Murtagh double as earlier he teams up with John Oxx's Anazeem in the County Maiden. This half-sister to this year's Prix Ganay winner, Astarabad, was third at Leopardstown on her debut to the highly-touted Idilic Calm.
