Agitare (far side) was narrowly denied on debut at Leopardstown.© Photo Healy Racing
Agitare bids to go one better than his promising debut second for Jim Bolger when he lines up for the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden at the Curragh.
Three intriguing maidens open a classy card on Friday evening, and Bolger’s representative in race two has obvious prospects of opening his account en route to higher-profile assignments.
Agitare, headed right on the line when beaten a short head by Aidan O’Brien’s Cormorant at Leopardstown, is entered in the Group Two Champions Juvenile Stakes on Irish Champions Weekend.
That assignment, back at Leopardstown next month, is possibly on the agenda for several in action here.
Among those potentially standing in Agitare’s way are three O’Brien contenders — Amhran Na Bhfiann Cabot Hills and Persia
Cabot Hills is the one with form in the book already — a five-length second at Leopardstown last month.
Joseph O’Brien’s Bligh and Kevin Prendergast’s Khairy are eyecatching among a field of unraced juveniles in the opening Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden.
Both hold Group entries on Champions weekend, and are joined in an 18-strong line-up by three from the powerhouse stable of O’Brien’s father Aidan in Monument Valley Victory Road and Wichita
Victory Road is a son of the same trainer’s Group-winning sprinter Dietrich, and Monument Valley is a half-brother to Breeders’ Cup Turf winner Main Sequence.
The Sycamore Lodge Equine Hospital Maiden, over six furlongs, is for three-year-olds and upwards.
One with obvious potential is Ballydoyle debutant Yale who will be ridden by Ryan Moore and was a $1million purchase last year, before his move from American trainer Todd Pletcher.
The handicappers conclude the evening after back-to-back juvenile Group Twos, with Fozzy Stack’s Drumquina bidding to follow up last month’s narrow Naas victory in the closing TRM Calphormin Handicap — which has attracted a maximum field of 30.
