Pretty Polly Stakes at the Curragh

The Irish Derby Meeting continues today with another strong card, and once again Aidan O´Brien has a very strong hand, with fancied runners in all the top races. He won 3 of the 4 top races yesterday, including yet another 1-2-3 in the Irish Derby, which he was winning for the 11th time. However his task was made easier when Roger Varian withdrew Kingston Hill because of the firm ground. Varian has a chance of a kind of revenge when he saddles Ambivalent (Andrea Atzeni) in today´s main event, the Group One Pretty Polly for fillies and mares at 17.20 CET. Ambivalent won the race last year and has put up some good performances at this level. O´Brien saddles 3 runners here, with his main jockey, son Joseph, partnering Venus de Milo. She was an easy winner at Cork last time but this looks much tougher, and Marvellous (Seamus Heffernan) Looks the stable´s best hope. She is one of two 3yo´s in the field and finished 6th in the Oaks last time; Joseph could not do this weight in any case so the choice of jockey is simple and she looks the main threat to Ambivalent.

There are 3 more group races on the undercard and the Curragh Cup overt 1 3/4 miles at 16.15 Looks particularly interesting. O´Brien saddles 2 here, with Joseph on Ernest Hemingway, who won the race last year but looks held on Dubai form by Certerach (Mike Halford/ Jamie Spencer). Teenage daughter Ana rides El Salvador, runner-up over an extreme distance at Royal Ascot, but that form cannot be good enough. Dermot Weld is a very shrewd trainer of stayers and his lightly-raced mare Pale Mimosa (Pat Smullen) is surely the one to beat, as long as she can handle the ground.

Racing in the U.K. today is less interesting, and the best betting race is the Summer Cup, a handicap chase over 3 1/4 miles at 16.50 at Uttoxeter. Several of last year´s field turn out again, including tje first 3. Jonjo O´Neill´s Storm Survivor won it at 28-1, but he won´t pay so much today as he is the choice of Tony McCoy from the stable´s 3 runners. He is up in the weights now, but has been in good form in similar events and can score again.