Costume Drama

Dermot Weld may be entering the veteran stage of his training career, but his star is firmly in the ascendant in 2015 and he unleashes another potential luminary in Juddmonte’s unbeaten Brooch (Empire Maker) in Saturday’s G2 Lanwades Stud S. at The Curragh. Stepping up from a maiden at the Galway festival to add Killarney’s Listed Vincent O’Brien Ruby S. and the G3 Denny Cordell Lavarack & Lanwades Stud Fillies S. at Gowran Park to her tally, the homebred could be in line for a stellar campaign if she has made more progress. “She’s in very good form– Dermot has been very pleased with her,” the owner-breeder’s racing manager Teddy Grimthorpe told PA Sport. “She’s unbeaten and did everything we asked of her last season. We hope she can continue to progress and we’re expecting a good run.” 

While Brooch has a profile that fits a race of this status, the worthiness of the remainder is questionable. Marco Botti sends across Newsells Park Stud’s Pelerin (Ire) (Shamardal), who scored on her last visit here in Dundalk’s Listed Cooley Fillies S. in October and could be open to further progression, and also Immobiliare Casa Paola SRL’s Lady Dutch (GB) (Dutch Art {GB}). She was fourth in the G2 Dahlia S. over nine furlongs at Newmarket May 3, but that form was let down in York’s G2 Middleton S. last week and she has improvement to find here.