Dundalk hosts the Listed Text Your Bets To Paddy Power S. on Friday and the seven furlong contest for 3-year-olds has attracted some interesting entries. Among them are two of last season's leading juveniles Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) and Most Beautiful (GB) (Canford Cliffs {Ire}). The Aidan O'Brien trained Washington DC won the Listed Windsor Castle S. at Royal Ascot last year over five furlongs and followed that with a very respectable second to stable-mate Air Force Blue (War Front) over a further furlong in the G1 Keeneland Phoenix S. at The Curragh. Most Beautiful, trained by David Wachman and owned in partnership by Mrs Paul Shanahan and former Irish Rugby international Ronan O'Gara, won the G3 Grangecon Stud S. at The Curragh last year beating subsequent stakes winner Only Mine (Ire) (Pour Moi {Ire}). She then chased home the subsequent Group 1 winning stable-mates Ballydoyle (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) and Minding (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) in the G2 Debutante S. last August.
Also featuring in the entries are two impressive debut maiden winners from last season. The Willie McCreery trained French Blue (Ire) (Iffraaj {GB}) looked smart when breaking her maiden in the Godolphin silks in Dundalk last year by four and a half lengths. Cool Thunder (Ire) (Shamardal), owned and bred by Hadi Al-Tajir similarly bolted up by six lengths in a maiden at Naas in October and trainer Kevin Prendergast has already been in winning form on the opening day of the turf flat season at the Curragh last week.
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