Grand Entrance

The Curragh's G2 Friarstown Stud Sapphire S. has drawn a star turn on Saturday as England's sprint queen Marsha (Ire) (Acclamation {GB}) looks to rob some of the limelight from the feature Irish Oaks. Last year's G1 Prix de l'Abbaye heroine lost little in defeat when third to Lady Aurelia (Scat Daddy) in the G1 King's Stand S. at Royal Ascot last time June 20 and a repeat of that performance would see her readily upstage this crew. There is a sense that she may even have been below the lofty standard she attained when previously defying a seven-pound penalty in the G3 Palace House S. at Newmarket May 6 and this appears an ideal spot for Elite Racing Club's homebred to enjoy an easy spin. “She ran very well at Ascot,” trainer Sir Mark Prescott commented. “I'm probably biased, but I felt it was probably the best performance of Royal Ascot–I felt she [Lady Aurelia] was the best horse there. Just when you were hoping she would falter, off she went again. The conditions of this race suit her pretty well and I think she ought to run here before the [Aug. 25 G1] Nunthorpe at York.”

Only 11th in the King's Stand, Moyville Racing Syndicate's Ardhoomey (Ire) (Dark Angel {Ire}) could prove a different prospect back over the course and distance over which he beat Washington DC (Ire) (Zoffany {Ire}) in the G2 Flying Five S. in September. Another who is proven over the track and trip is Hit the Bid (GB) (Exceed and Excel {Aus}), who narrowly lost when bidding to defy topweight in the Rockingham H. here 13 days ago after winning Cork's Listed Midsummer Sprint S. in which Alphabet (GB) (Lawman {Fr}) dead-heated for third June 18. “He came out of the Rockingham very well and was very unlucky on the day, but that's sprinting for you,” Hit the Bid's trainer Darren Bunyan said. “This race wasn't originally part of the plan, but he seems to be in the form of his life at the moment, so we decided to supplement him on Tuesday. I think he'll be hard to beat if things go his way, to tell you the truth. As we all know, there can only be a fraction of a second between these top-end sprinters and luck in running can make the difference between finishing first or fourth. Our horse is only a three-year-old and a baby in sprinting terms. He's a very exciting horse.”