Barberstown Castle Sapphire Stakes (Group 2) (Class 1) (3YO plus)
5f Soft (Yielding in places)
soon tracked leader in 2nd, improved to lead from 2f out, pushed along and stretched clear from 1f out, comfortably
soon towards rear on inner, switched off rail from 2f out, progress over 1f out and soon went 4th, pushed along inside final furlong and went 2nd close home, no impression on easy winner
tracked leaders, pushed along and went 2nd from 1f out, ridden inside final furlong and no impression on easy winner, dropped to 3rd close home
mid-division, switched to outer and progress over 1f out, soon pushed along and went 3rd, ridden and no extra inside final furlong, dropped to 4th close home
soon led, headed from 2f out, pushed along over 1f out and soon no extra in 6th, went moderate 5th close home
tracked leaders and pushed along in 4th from halfway, ridden over 1f out and soon weakened, dropped to 6th close home
towards rear, some progress on outer from 2f out, ridden over 1f out, no extra and weakened inside final furlong
soon towards rear on outer, pushed along from 2f out and soon ridden, no extra in rear from over 1f out
| Type | Winnings |
|---|---|
| Betfair SP | €2.23 |
| CSF | €9.44 (1, 2) |
| Win | €2.20 (1) |
| Place | €1.10 (1), €1.70 (2), €2.00 (3) |
| Exacta | €9.30 (1, 2) |
| Trifecta | €52.50 (1, 2, 3) |
A race which further serves to underline the weakness in the Irish sprint division, as the July Cup fourth went off a short-priced favourite and won easily from rivals who are no better than useful on balance. The ground looks to have been no worse than “soft” at this stage but was nearer “heavy” by the end of proceedings, and the following day’s card ended up being cancelled. First and second in this raced close to the stand-side rail.
ART POWER (119 here and previously) looks very smart indeed on his day, which this undoubtedly was, but has come up short against the very best on several occasions, so this clear-cut win is best taken with a small pinch of salt, for all that he probably ran 2 to 3 lengths better than he had when fourth to Shaquille in the July Cup at Newmarket the time before. The return to the minimum trip probably helped on ground this soft, and he raced in second before leading with 2f to go, shaken up and quickening clear, merely pushed out.
GO ATHLETICO (100+ here, 108 previously) shaped better than the result and is worth persevering with his rating, though that leaves him with something to find at this level. He was held up on the stand side and made late headway to grab second near the line. A smart 2-y-o, he had been a bit below that level in France prior to joining this trainer and winning a listed race at Cork in June.
MOSS TUCKER (99 here, 107 previously) ran just respectably, tracking the pace in mid-field travelling comfortably, improving approaching the final 1f then no extra inside it.
LADIES CHURCH (96 here, 110 previously) was below form but possibly not helped by how things panned out, wider than most and improving in the penultimate 1f before no extra late on. She is better than this on her day.
WHITE LAVENDER (73 here, 109 previously) ran poorly after a 69-day break since winning a Group 3 at Longchamp, a narrow leader until 2f out, doing plenty in the process, then weakening tamely.
ANO SYRA (73 here, 98 previously)
LADY TILBURY (71 here, 95 previously)
MARIA BRANWELL (56 here, 94 previously)
| Year | Going | Ran | Winner | Draw | Age | Weight | OR | Form | Last run | Trainer (Distance) | Jockey | SP | Time |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2022 | Good | 9 | Ladies Church | 2 | 3 | 9 2 | - | 1132-20 | 29 days | J P Murtagh (3 miles) | Ben Coen | 12/ 1 | 1:00.86 |
| 2021 | Good | 8 | Mooneista | 7 | 3 | 9 2 | - | 1-321D6 | 29 days | J Davison (32 miles) | Colin Keane | 10/ 1 | 0:58.75 |
| 2020 | Good - Yielding | 7 | A'Ali | 6 | 3 | 9 5 | - | 1510-81 | 14 days | S & E Crisford | Colin Keane | EVENS | 0:59.85 |
| 2019 | Good to Firm | 9 | Soffia | 9 | 4 | 9 4 | - | 14-6211 | 44 days | E Lynam (32 miles) | Declan McDonogh | 6/ 1 | 0:58.51 |
| 2018 | Good to Firm | 7 | Havana Grey | 2 | 3 | 9 3 | - | 1122-56 | 57 days | K R Burke | P J McDonald | 10/ 1 | 0:58.21 |
| 2017 | Good to Firm | 6 | Caspian Prince | 6 | 8 | 9 8 | - | 375914 | 28 days | T Coyle | Declan McDonogh | 10/ 1 | 0:57.15 |
| 2016 | Good - Yielding | 6 | Mecca's Angel | 1 | 5 | 9 4 | - | 1121-20 | 32 days | M Dods | Paul Mulrennan | 5/ 4 | 0:58.61 |
| 2015 | Good | 7 | Stepper Point | 7 | 6 | 9 7 | - | 9-94704 | 14 days | W Muir | P J Smullen | 6/ 1 | 0:58.75 |
| 2014 | Good to Firm | 6 | Fountain Of Youth | 5 | 3 | 9 3 | - | 214-807 | 9 days | A P O'Brien (73 miles) | Seamie Heffernan | 14/ 1 | 0:59.01 |
| 2013 | Good | 10 | Slade Power | 2 | 4 | 9 9 | - | 2118-37 | 7 days | E Lynam (32 miles) | Wayne Lordan | 11/ 4 | 0:57.51 |
| 2012 | Soft | 8 | Definightly | 5 | 6 | 9 7 | - | 2237-23 | 13 days | H & R Charlton | Johnny Murtagh | 13/ 8 | 1:02.13 |
| 2011 | Good | 6 | Invincible Ash | 3 | 6 | 9 4 | - | 525346 | 17 days | M Halford (3 miles) | Gary Carroll | 9/ 2 | 1:00.13 |
| 2010 | Good to Firm | 12 | Glamorous Spirit | 1 | 4 | 9 2 | - | 421204 | 8 days | R Harris | Kieren Fallon | 16/ 1 | 0:57.85 |
| 2009 | Good to Firm | 8 | Benbaun | 8 | 8 | 9 5 | - | 563-823 | 28 days | K Ryan | P J Smullen | 5/ 1 | 1:00.03 |
| 2008 | Good to Soft | 8 | Tax Free | 3 | 6 | 9 7 | - | 3-52241 | 27 days | D Nicholls | Adrian Nicholls | 4/ 1 | 0:59.00 |
| 2007 | Good to Soft | 9 | Snaefell | 6 | 3 | 9 1 | - | 14-3642 | 14 days | M Halford (3 miles) | Johnny Murtagh | 16/ 1 | 1:02.97 |
| 2006 | Good to Firm | 8 | Dandy Man | 4 | 3 | 9 6 | - | 115-214 | 12 days | Mrs C Collins | P Shanahan | 5/ 4 | 0:58.40 |
| 2005 | Good to Firm | 14 | Benbaun | 4 | 4 | 9 4 | - | 2132-20 | 12 days | M Wallace | Kieren Fallon | 13/ 2 | 0:57.40 |
| 2004 | Good | 6 | Osterhase | 6 | 5 | 9 7 | - | 261-061 | 20 days | J E Mulhern | Fran Berry | 3/ 1 | 0:57.30 |
| 2003 | Good to Soft | 10 | Deportivo | 9 | 3 | 9 1 | - | 1118-61 | 12 days | H & R Charlton | Johnny Murtagh | 11/ 8 | 0:59.70 |
