Hopes of Australia bringing off an English-Irish Derby double could come down to the going, and the odds of testing ground threatening an appearance by Aidan O’Brien’s new superstar in the
€1.25 million Curragh classic in 19 days’ time are considerably shorter than Indigo Lady’s 66 to 1 SP in yesterday’s HQ feature.
The complete outsider for the TRM Silver Stakes thrived on a soft surface to make all the running under an inspired Seamus Heffernan and provide an unlikely connection to whether or not Australia might contest the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby.
Indigo Lady was recently confirmed in foal to Camelot, the 2012 double-Derby hero, whose Curragh success on heavy going was later pointed to by Aidan O’Brien as a contributory factor in the subsequent dramatic tapering off of the colt’s form.
Yielding
Since four of the last seven Irish Derbies have been run on ground descriptions that contained at least “yielding” – and two of them had “heavy” in the description – the champion trainer is determined not to make any quick decisions about Australia’s next outing.
“The Irish Derby is a possibility,” O’Brien acknowledged yesterday. “But the ground will obviously be a factor and we will try not to run him on bad ground.”
That could have the Curragh authorities praying for a rare dry-spell through the rest of June but Indigo Lady thrived in yesterday’s conditions and also benefitted from Heffernan’s decisive move in the straight, away from the rest of the field to the stands side rail. Willie McCreery’s rank outsider held off Castle Guest by a neck.
“I told Seamie to be positive because all she does is stay,” the trainer said.
“It was a great ride and I have to give Camelot some credit too. She has blossomed since put in foal.”
Winning debut
Ger Lyons saddled
Bertie Le Belge
to make a winning debut in the juvenile, getting the better of the favourite Cape Clear Island in impressive style while System Overload overcame the going to break his duck in the three-year-old maiden.
“I nearly pulled him out due to the ground but I think he’s very smart. Ascot will come too soon but we’ll have some fun with him over 10 furlongs,” Lyons said.
Ballydoyle’s Gypsy King was a hot favourite for the final maiden but had to get the full Joseph O’Brien drive to rally and force a dead-heat with the dual-purpose five year old Dalasiri.
