tracked leader in 2nd, headway to lead over 1f out, kept on well under pressure inside final furlong
led, ridden and headed over 1f out, soon no extra
tracked leaders in 3rd, ridden along under 2f out, no extra final furlong
settled in 4th, headway on outer to challenge 1f out, no impression on winner inside final furlong
UP is the only three-year-old in the race and she'll be expected to spearhead the Ballydoyle charge over the coming months by taking this. The daughter of Galileo beat stablemate Wonderful when landing a fillies' maiden over the C&D in September then ran a superb race in the Breeders' Cup Juvenile Fillies' Turf. Duchess Of Foxland, who landed a Listed contest at Galway in 2010, is a very worthy opponent as she competed at a high level throughout the last campaign and ran well without winning. Both Marvada and Royal Blue Star were involved in some decent contests last season and the latter completed an early summer double so can go well fresh.
Marvada (IRE) 33-1 (9-0) last of 10, 22l behind Mahbooba (9-0) at Meydan(UAE) 1m 1f Grp 2 flls (1) gd in Feb.
Royal Blue Star (IRE) 7-1 (8-12) Led, strongly pressed from 2f out, headed under pressure early final furlong, soon weakened and eased, 9th of 11, 6l behind Wild Wind (8-12) at Killarney 1m Listed stks (1) gd in Aug.
Duchess Of Foxland (IRE) 12-1 (9-2) Chased leaders, 3rd halfway, ridden to challenge 2f out, 2nd 1f out, no extra inside final furlong, kept on same pace, 4th of 14, 2l behind Clinical (9-3) at Dundalk 1m flls lst stks (1) pol in Nov.
Up (IRE) 20-1 (8-10) Shifted out, gaining, 4th of 16, 2 1/4l behind Stephanie's Kitten (8-10) at Churchill Downs(USA) 1m 2yo fll Grp 2 (1) gd in Nov.