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Navan Mon Apr 24 2yo race review

Navan 1625 Monday April 24
EBF Maiden
5f182yds, 1m12.36s
(slow by 3.36s)
Good (Good to Firm in places)

Romanised. Feb 5. Half-brother to winners including two over two miles. Broke well, settled just behind the pace. Jockey made to wait until the furlong when he worked into the clear. Unleashed a short sprint to win on the line.

Brick By Brick. Mar 16 foal, 34k gns foal. Half-brother to a couple of decent types. Stable flying, trainer can get a decent 2yo as well as win G1s over obstacles. Broke well, straight to the front along rail. Set strong pace, urged along at 2f and left rivals flat-footed. Only claimed on the post by smart winner. Canny ride.

Declarationofpeace. $2.6m yearling. Half-brother to Belmont winner Honor Code. Tongue tie on already. Sat just off the leader, couldn't go with the winner when asked, kept on OK to keep third.

Wolfofbaggotstreet. Mar 20, €64k yearling (€14k foal). First foal of dam. Trainer won 2yo race here previous day. Broke well, settled on rail just behind leader. Brakes released at 2f and moved closer to the leader but no acceleration to catch him. Kept on OK, decent debut.

Another Batt. Apr 21 foal, bred and retained by trainer. A little slow to begin, settled at tail of field. Began to edge forward at halfway, copped significant 2.5f out and then really got going down middle of the track, making up a lot of ground. Big run for a 50/1 shot from tiny yard. One to follow.

Point Zero. Apr 24, £100k yearling. Started well, settled just behind the pace next to the winner. Under pressure at the 2f without much response, appeared to gain a little ground late when he started to work out what racing was about.

Papa Stour. Apr 12. Interesting debutant, first runner in Ireland for Andrew Black & Chasemore Farm. Dam won on debut. Jumped well, settled in centre of track, facing the breeze just off the pace. Edged forward from halfway, run ended 100m out.

Raphael. Feb 25 foal, £65k yearling (€35k foal). Dam unraced. Wore a noseroll. Sat very handy, in centre of track. Urged forward at 2f but soon outpaced by others, plugged on in closing stages.

Vicky Cristina. Mar 25 foal, €24k vendor buyback as yearling. Slow to begin, settled at rear. Started weaving through the pack from halfway, whip not pulled, decent run for 33/1 shot. Will be much better with some barrier training.

Moltoir. Eighth at Naas on debut Apr 9. Away well, but eased to settle in back half of field. Tried to go with Another Batt at 2f but was left in his dust.

Medal of Honour. May 11, very late foal. €340k yearling, related to some decent types in Italy. Settled back in the field, edged toward the rail behind the placegetters. Unable to go with them at the furlong, just plodded home without being punished.

Marmalade N Toast. Mar 31, €30k yearling. Widest draw, stuck out on a limb early in midfield. Moved forward at 2f, but soon outpaced and went nowhere. Well beaten.

Castrogiovanni. Well back on debut at Naas Apr 9. Sat in back half of field, pushed out and caused interference at 2f. Bounced around in midfield after that, not a lot of room but didn't appear to be trying to burst through either.

Famous Affair. Apr 30, €3k vendor buyback as yearling. Always at the back, did nothing.

Ragtime Red. Midfield on debut, tongue tie applied here. Mid-back in the field, copped a bump from Castrogiovanni and switched off mentally, dropping right out.

Dark Waters. Poor debut and backed up that formline here. Out the back, did nothing.

Pak Army. Third run of career already. Ran home nicely at Dundalk last time, expected to improve for extra furlong here. Tried to lead this time but was in trouble at halfway (tricky hill on this course) and went backwards very quickly.

Shifted Strategy. Mar 26 foal, €90k yearling. Settled back and toward the rail. Bit green middle stages. Losing touch by 2f out and faded away.

KEY POINTS
This looked to be a very hot race on paper and the form out of this should be quite strong. The winner had a soft run and won nicely, the runner-up wasn't fancied despite red-hot recent record of Jessica Harrington and only just failed. The top price Ballydoyle colt will no doubt learn from the run but the early tongue tie is a concern. Another Batt and Vicky Cristina looked to be nice runs considering their SPs.

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