Punita Arora, left© Photo Healy Racing
Jessica Harrington has enjoyed an excellent year with her juvenile Flat runners and the Classic-winning trainer is represented by no less than three of the six runners for the featured Irish Stallion Farms EBF Premier Nursery at Navan today.
Harrington’s three runners have each won maidens this year, with Punita Arora a previous course and distance winner over this five-furlong trip, while both For The Trees and Invincible Diva have also won races over this distance.
Invincible Diva has bottom-weight of 8st 4lb and is below Harrington’s stable jockey Shane Foley’s riding weight, so he sides with For The Trees over Punita Arora.
In truth the six-runner race is highly competitive and while For The Trees was a good second in a similar race at the Curragh 22 days ago, the winner of that race, the Joseph O’Brien-trained Chrysalism reopposes.
Chrysalism has been raised 10lbs for her two-and-a-half-length success, but is again set to carry a feather weight, with apprentice Alan Persse claiming 7lb.
O’Brien’s other runner, Air Force Jet has top-weight, but is another with claims as he drops down from Group company.
Colin Keane leads the jockeys’ championship and has a strong book of rides at the meeting, among them Universal Focus in the DnmClub.com Handicap.
The Ross O’Sullivan-trained gelding showed improved form when winning well at Down Royal recently and while raised 8lb for that, should go close again over a slightly long trip of a mile and three-quarters.
