in rear, ridden on outer from early straight, no impression 2f out, soon one pace in 5th
close up, on terms halfway, headed over 2f out, dropped to 3rd and no impression 1f out, kept on same pace
soon raced in 3rd, closed up travelling smoothly straight, ridden under 2f out, 2nd and kept on without matching winner final furlong
soon raced in 5th, ridden from early straight, no impression 2f out, soon one pace in 4th
tracked leaders, soon 4th, pushed along before straight, no impression 2f out, dropped behind and eased from over 1f out
Atlantic Sea is the only one of these without a win so far and Focussed is the most exposed, though the latter returned an easy winner of a handicap at Tipperary last time. It's likely that Dundalk winners Soft Power and Trinity Force have much more to offer and the same can be said of Lanyard. Dermot Weld's charge was expected to do better in a Group 3 at Leopardstown in October but ran below par behind Craftsman. The latter had earlier fallen prey to WARBIRD over 7f at this track and, on that basis, Mick Halford's colt gets the vote to make a winning return.
Atlantic Sea 5-6fav (8-13) Chased leaders, 3rd entering straight, ridden in 3rd 2f out, 2nd 1f out, soon no impression, 4th of 12, 6l behind He's No Saint (9-5) at Dundalk 6f 2yo mdn auc stks pol in Sep.
Warbird 14-1 (9-3) Raced in 4th, ridden over 2f out, no impression from over 1f out, 4th of 6, 10l behind Giovanni Boldini (9-3) at Dundalk 7f 2yo Listed stks (1) pol in Oct.
Lanyard (USA) 9-1 (9-0) Tracked leader and 3rd halfway, pushed along in 4th 2f out and soon no impression, no extra in 6th 1f out, weakened, last of 7, 12l behind Craftsman (9-3) at Leopardstown 7f 2yo Grp 3 (1) sft in Oct.
Trinity Force (IRE) 13-2 (9-5) Dwelt and held up in rear, ridden in moderate 7th on outer 2f out, progress into 4th 1f out, stayed on well to lead inside final furlong, won at Dundalk 7f 3yo mdn auc stks pol in Apr beating Wateed (9-5) by 1 1/4l, 8 ran.
Focussed (IRE) 5-2 (9-10) Chased leaders in 3rd, ridden 3f out, stayed on to lead 1 1/2f out, kept on strongly final furlong to go clear, won at Tipperary 7f 3yo hcp sft in Apr beating The Panhandler (9-3) by 6l, 4 ran.
Soft Power (IRE) 2-5fav (9-0) Tracked leaders and 3rd halfway, progress to lead over 1f out, drew clear inside final furlong, comfortably, won at Dundalk 7f 3yo mdn stks pol in Jan beating Osuileabhain (9-0) by 6l, 6 ran.