settled towards rear, headway on outer halfway, went 3rd 2f out, 2nd and challenged 1f out, no impression under pressure inside final furlong
chased leaders, 4th halfway, 6th and pushed along from 2f out, kept on same pace without threatening to regain 4th final furlong
tracked leaders on far rail, travelling well in 4th under 3f out, switched left 2f out, soon ridden and no extra from over 1f out
always prominent, tracked leader in 2nd, led under 2f out, ridden and pressed 1f out, stayed on well inside final furlong
tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden and weakened quickly from 2f out
led, driven along from halfway, headed under 2f out, soon weakened and dropped to 5th inside final furlong
settled in rear, headway on inner into 5th 2f out, 4th under pressure 1f out, 3rd inside final furlong but no impression on principals
This has been won by some of the great names in Irish racing's recent past with Aidan O'Brien taking it six times in the last 11 years. The Ballydoyle team intend to continue the trend with a quartet of entries, any one of which could take this at their best. Jockey bookings don't always tell the whole story from the yard but there's no doubt that Samuel Morse is the pick on the form of his short-head defeat by Formosina in the Group 2 Railway Stakes here in June. However, he was well behind Zoffany in the Phoenix Stakes and his stablemate High Ruler was only a couple of lengths behind that winner in a Leopardstown Group 3 last time. Rudolf Valentino both have more to do and Robin Hood is held by Pathfork on their 1-2 in a C&D maiden a month ago when Jessica Harrington's colt looked an outstanding prospect. He'll need to improve again but looks certain to give a good account though all form lines point to GLOR NA MARA, who showed the benefit of a nice introduction on this track by almost upsetting the high-class Zoffany in the Phoenix Stakes. Jim Bolger has won this with Teofilio and New Approach recently and today's representative could prove to be in their class.
Glor Na Mara (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, challenged in close 2nd and every chance from over 1f out, kept on same pace near finish, 2nd of 7, 1/2l behind Zoffany (9-1) at Curragh 6f 2yo Grp 1 (1).
High Ruler (USA) 9-1 (9-1) Led, ridden and headed 1 1/2f out, no extra over 1f out and kept on same pace, 2nd of 4, 2l behind Zoffany (9-1) at Leopardstown 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) gd in Jul.
Longhunter 11-4 (9-1) Dwelt and held up, 6th halfway, soon ridden, no impression from 2f out, last of 7, 6l behind Formosina (9-1) at Curragh 6f 2yo Grp 2 (1) gf in Jun.
Pathfork (USA) 9-2 (8-11) Tracked leaders, 2nd halfway, improved to challenge 2f out, led 1f out, ridden to assert final furlong, comfortably, won at Curragh 7f 2yo mdn gd in Jul beating Robin Hood (9-0) by 4l, 14 ran.
Robin Hood (IRE) 9-4 (8-7) Made all, strongly pressed and stayed on well under pressure inside final furlong, won at Galway 7f mdn stks in Jul beating Tashqeel (9-0) by 3/4l, 8 ran.
Rudolf Valentino 12-1 (9-1) Led, ridden and headed halfway, no extra in 4th over 2f out, kept on one pace, 3rd close home, 3rd of 4, 10l behind Dunboyne Express (9-1) at Curragh 6f 2yo Grp 3 (1) gd in Jul.
Samuel Morse (IRE) 12-1 (9-1) Tracked leaders, ridden into 3rd over 1f out, soon no impression and kept on same pace, 5th of 7, 8l behind Zoffany (9-1) at Curragh 6f 2yo Grp 1 (1).
