Pretreville wins early-season skirmish

There was an early skirmish on the flat at Dundalk this evening as Group 3 winner Pretreville defeated 2020 National Stakes victor Thunder Moon to land the featured Story Of Dundalk Stadium Book Race.

Thunder Moon failed to win in seven starts since his 2020 Group 1 heroics but was narrowly beaten in the top-level Prix Jean Prat last July and today faced Pretreville, who was himself last successful in Chantilly's Group 3 Prix Bertrand du Breuil in May 2020.

Both horses had their first starts since October and racing for €8,700 first-prize in the five-runner race, Pretreville (12/1) proved a length and a quarter too strong for Thunder Moon (4/5f). San Andreas the 85/40 second-favourite, lost all chance exiting the stalls awkwardly but stayed on well for a never dangerous fourth, beaten just two lengths by winner Pretreville.

Pretreville's trainer Ado McGuinness and jockey Ronan Whelan had combined to win the Prix de l'Abbaye last October with A Case Of You and following today's success, McGuinness said “he’s a good horse but was making a little noise and we got a wind operation done on him.

“We ran him on soft ground and shouldn’t have. He’s only had two bits of work before he ran here, last week and the week before.

“The first day I worked him he took my breath away.”

He added “there are loads of options and he’ll go for either the Doha race that Bowerman won last year or to Dubai on Super Saturday. The Doha race is over a mile but it’s quite a tight track and it could suit him. Super Saturday is over seven, he just needs to settle a bit.

“We have new French owners in along with Shamrock (Thoroughbreds) and I’m delighted.”

Pretreville is an area in the Normandy region in northwestern France.

Quotes from Alan Magee