Performance Review
April 2025
It’s been a frustrating enough month for us with four runners hitting the crossbar in second (two of those in blacktype races) but at least it’s a sign that the horses are running well.
We dropped Vespertilio back to six furlongs for the first time since her two-year-old maiden in the Listed Cork Stakes and she ran a cracker for Al Shira'aa Racing to be beaten just half a length in second. I didn’t think that the winner, Lady With The Lamp, was getting enough credit at the time and she subsequently went on to boost the form when winning another listed race on her next start at Chelmsford.
We’ll have to see what trip turns out to be best for our filly as a four-year-old, but she’s not slow by any means and there might be other options for her over six furlongs. A race like the Greenlands Stakes could be interesting on Guineas weekend at the Curragh, where she’s obviously run well before.
I thought Enfranchise came out of the Vintage Crop Stakes with a lot of credit, staying on well to finish second behind Kyprios. We all know how good he is in this division. I even thought our mare might have finished closer with a slightly different ride but she’s now started her season with two good runs, so you’d have to be positive about that.
We’ll have a crack at a Group 2 at Hoppegarten in Germany with her next on May 11th. That could look like a suitable type of race for her over two miles.
I’m hoping there’s a race to be won with Miceal Sammon’s Navy Waters in due course after she went close on her debut at Limerick, just touched off by half a length in second. She’s only getting to the racecourse for the first time as a four-year-old and I expect there’ll be improvement in her in terms of the greenness she showed here.
She got a bit of kickback and didn’t know what was happening at that point; then she hit the front a furlong down and idled. We’ll look at getting her out again next month. There’s a maiden at Ballinrobe that she should be competitive in over the extended nine furlongs.
A homebred filly called Steel Magnolia put in her best performance to date on handicap debut at Tipperary, finishing second over five furlongs. It was a step forward and we’ll look for something similar again, maybe over six furlongs.
Lastly, I thought Edergole's Angel started her season on a positive note when third in a mile handicap at Bellewstown for Chapelrock Ventures Ltd. Getting impeded probably cost her finishing second, or at least finishing closer than she did. It was still a lovely run.
She comes from a good family and had a decent second at the Curragh last season, so we’ll be doing all we can to get a winning bracket for her in 2025.
Overall, we’ve been knocking on the door this month and if the horses continue to do that, let’s hope it’s only a matter of time before the winners begin to flow.