Our Irish Eyes column previews the action at Leopardstown
Leopardstown hosts a classy card tonight with the emphasis very much on the juveniles given that the first four races are confined to two-year-olds.
Recommended bets: Irish Eyes
2pts win Change Of Velocity 6.25 Leopardstown - 9/2
1.5pts win Easter Lily, 6.55 Leopardstown - 5/1
1pt each-way Would Be King 7.30 Leopardstown - 9/1
The opening €20,000 claimer is best left alone given the nature of these events but the following maiden looks interesting, as do the next two Group Three events, given the talent on show.
The Ballydoyle juveniles have been improving by tremendous amounts from their debuts this season but what The Pentagon did on his second start at the Curragh was quite phenomenal, so much so that it immediately reminded me of the progress made by Arrogate 11 months ago when he stepped up from optional claimer company to win the Travers by over 13 lengths.
Granted, that was a Grade One and The Pentagon’s win merely came in a maiden but nevertheless, it was a stunning performance backed up by the clock.
Ana O’Brien’s 3lb-claim might have helped to a degree but the way he put more than eight lengths between him and the useful Medal Of Honour was breathtaking and saw him promoted to ante-post favourite for next year’s Investec Derby.
Aidan O’Brien has annexed this race for the past three years with subsequent Group One scorers – two of them Classic winners – Gleneagles, Deauville and Churchill. Indeed, three more of O’Brien’s previous 10 winners of the race also went on to win Group One races so it's clear that he always aims some of his best juveniles at this event.
Ger Lyons has his team in tremendous form with four of his last 10 runners having won and another four having finished second or third, so his runner Would Be King gives the race plenty of strength, despite him being the only maiden in the line-up.
He ran into two subsequent Group Two winners in his maidens, Beckford and Gustav Klimt, while he was also runner-up to the Coventry fourth Brother Bear in a Listed race.
Jim Bolger too runs a genuine Group-race horse in the shape of Theobald, a son of his trainer’s 2006 winner of this race, Teofilo. Having won his maiden over a mile here, he ran with credit when dropping back to six and a half furlongs for the Anglesey on his next start to finish second.
In all, it’s a very strong renewal but The Pentagon looked every inch a Group One colt on his second start and it is expected he will take this before graduating to top company in the National Stakes.
At the prices however, the value probably lies in backing Would Be King each-way at 9/1, despite there only being two places on offer. The alternative might be to back him without the favourite at 3/1 with Sky Bet.
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Coat Of Arms is another Ballydoyle juvenile who improved from his debut.
Having beaten only two home in a 12-runner seven-furlong maiden here first time out, he returned to this track for his second run (at today’s one-mile trip) when he led for a long way but was beaten close home to finish third.
The winner on that occasion was the aforementioned Tyros contender Theobald and Berkeley Square, who looks likely to set the pace for The Pentagon in the same race. Coat Of Arms was only beaten two and a half lengths and a short-head that day so a repeat of that effort should see him go close in the one-mile maiden at 6.25, albeit he is without the useful 3lb claim of Ana O’Brien now, which could prove significant.
He is taken on today by the very highly-regarded Change Of Velocity, who is likely to have improved massively from his own debut. Jim Bolger’s colt finished a staying-on fourth to The Pentagon over seven furlongs at the Curragh and despite the fact the was beaten by over 10 lengths, he really cottoned on to what was required towards the end of the race. Today’s step up to one mile is likely to suit him down to the ground.
All in all, there isn't much between the form of the two leading contenders for the race, yet Coat Of Arms is currently trading at 11/10 whilst Change of Velocity is available at 7/2 and consequently he gets the vote.
Easter Lily finished three places in front of Happily when they both made their debut here last month behind stablemate and subsequent Chesham Stakes winner September.
There was very little between the daughters of Galileo that day, in the betting or at the finishing line, and both have subsequently won their maidens in good style.
Happily, a full-sister to Gleneagles, went on to The Curragh where she won by one and three-quarter lengths, while Easter Lily came back to this track where she had the same distance to spare over the runner-up.
It is somewhat surprising then that there is such a gulf between the two in prices today.
Granted Ryan Moore takes the mount on Happily and therefore she appears to be the stable number one, but both her starts came on yielding ground whereas Easter Lily won her maiden on today's good to firm going.
That’s not to say that Happily won’t improve for the better ground of course but until evidence is seen to the contrary, it could pay to side with Easter Lily and Donnacha O'Brien at 7/2 in the Jockey Club Of Turkey Silver Flash Stakes.
Posted 1010 BST on 27/07/2017