DAILY RACING PREVIEW BY ANDY HOLDING
TUESDAY JULY 15
7.15 KILLARNEY
Johnny Murtagh’s team have struck a nice bit of form during this mid-summer period (7-25 at 28%) and SHAOOL is well fancied to continue that theme and back up her latest victory at Leopardstown.
Having her first start in handicap company at the Dublin track, the daughter of Belardo raced noticeably generously in the first-time cheekpieces and she found quite an impressive turn of foot in the final two furlongs, pulling well clear to the tune of four lengths.
Well suited by the rain-softened ground that evening, it’s also worth pointing out she ran the last three furlongs in the same time as Group 3 winner Copacabana Sands, who was racing over two furlongs less, and with the step up in trip and ease underfoot two factors in her favour, this progressive filly makes plenty of appeal at the morning odds.
SHAOOL – 1-point each-way@5-1 (four -places)
7.45 KILLARNEY
DARK NOTE arrives here via a bit of an unconventional route, having won a novice chase at Tipperary recently, but he has some reasonable form on the Flat and with one of his better runs in this discipline coming over tonight’s C&D, Andrew Slattery’s gelding can keep up the fine recent run of his stable (7-32 in last two weeks).
The six-year-old took one or two notable scalps at the Limerick Junction venue two weeks ago and it was nothing more than he deserved having finished in the money on each of his three previous starts.
A respectable third behind Mordor in a competitive handicap here back in May, he may well have bettered that position had he not become fractious in the stalls and providing he behaves himself a little better on this occasion, the chances of him improving on that display are quite high.
DARK NOTE – ½ point each-way@15-2