Karawaan and Colin Keane© Photo Healy Racing
The three-day Racing Home For Easter Festival at Cork kicks off with an all-Flat eight-race card on Saturday, and Karawaan bids to follow up his win in last month’s Irish Lincoln in the featured Buy Tickets Online And Save On Admission Tickets Handicap.
The Sea The Stars gelding won on the all-weather at Chelmsford for Sir Michael Stoute, and was bought last summer for 32,000 at Doncaster to join Ger Lyons.
The five-year-old’s first outing for Glenburnie Stables came in that big mile handicap at Naas where he defied worries about the soft ground by staying on strongly inside the final furlong for a convincing victory.
A maximum field of 18 line up for this extended mile event, with Aussie Valentine Charcor and the hat-trick-seeking Annie Fior among his rivals.
Champion jockey Donnacha O’Brien has a strong book of rides both for his father Aidan and brother Joseph. Western Frontier was an expensive purchase at the Deauville Breeze Up Sales last spring and finished his juvenile campaign by scoring in good style at Navan.
The Scat Daddy colt faces a former stable companion in the shape of North Wind in the BetVictor Race.
North Wind, now in the care of Damian English, won a Naas maiden last year and was recently put into the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas at the second entry stage.
The Buy Annual Membership Today Maiden has been divided, and the father and son O’Brien combination are represented in division two by Globe Theatre
The Joseph O’Brien-trained Grandmaster Flash has filled the runner-up spot on his three previous starts, and may go one better in the Join Us Here Again Tomorrow Maiden.
