Magical (right) had to settle for second to Magical in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf. (Photo credit: Jessica Morgan/Eclipse Sportswire/CSM /Breeders Cup.)
Multiple Champion Group One race winner Magical is one of five runners in the Alwasmiyah Pretty Polly Stakes, the feature race this Sunday, day 3 of the Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby Festival. Declared runners were published this morning.
The Aidan O’Brien trained mare will make her first start of the season, having won the Irish Champion Stakes at Leopardstown and Champions Stakes at Ascot last year. O’Brien will also be represented by Fleeting.
The mare ran second to Enable in the 2018 Breeders’ Cup Turf (G1).
Other contenders in the Group 1 contest at the Curragh are the Jessica Harrington trained Cheyenne Pepper. True Self trained by Willie Mullins and the Ger Lyons trained recent Gowran winner Roca Roma.
The Denis Hogan trained leading sprinter Make A Challenge features among the nine runners in the Weatherbys Ireland Greenlands Stakes. Challengers in the Group 2 contest also include Speak in Colours, Buffer Zone and Queen Jo Jo trained in Britain by Kevin Ryan.
Fifteen runners will line up in the ultra competitive Paddy Power Rockingham Handicap, while Napa Valley, Rebel Tale and Masteroffoxhounds feature among the eight runners in the Finlay Volvo Cars Race.
Magical Wins 2019 Qipco Champion Stakes
Tomorrow’s Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby is set to be one of the most competitive in recent times. 15 horses remain in the race, the biggest field since 1977.
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Aidan O’Brien who has won Ireland’s premier Classic thirteen times will have a strong team to represent him with 6 runners including recent Royal Ascot winner Santiago who is the current ante post favourite
His son Joseph will try to win the race for a second time having won with Latrobe in 2018. He will be represented by the unbeaten Crossfirehurricane, while New York Girl who finished fourth in the recent Tattersalls Irish 1000 Guineas was added into the race earlier this week as a supplementary entry at a cost of €50,000. He also has Curragh recent winner Galileo Chrome in the race.
Fiscal Rules will represent Jim Bolger, who has won the race twice with St Jovite and Trading Leather.
Jessica Harrington will attempt to become the first female trainer to win the race with Gold Maze who finished runner up in the recent Coolmore Ten Sovereigns Gallinule Stakes.
This year’s race will be particularly significant for trainers with first Dubai Duty Free Irish Derby runners, Donnacha O’Brien with Sherpa, Ger Lyons with Chiricahua, Andy Slattery with Sunchart and Emmet Mullins with King of Thrones with will be a first ride in the race for jockey Rachael Blackmore. Other jockeys having their first ride in the race are Colin Keane, Edward Greatex, Michael Hussey, Billy Lee, Emmet McNamara, while Ben Coen and Shane Crosse will not only have their first ride but also try to become the youngest jockey to win the race
