Murtagh waiting on rain for Chasing Paradise It's fair to say that John Murtagh, in a relatively short space of time, has established himself as the predominant trainer on the Curragh in recent years, and the Meath native is likely to play a leading role in attempting to maintain the historic County Kildare plain as a pivotal area in Irish Flat racing in the years to come. After winners on each day of the Irish Derby meeting, Murtagh moved into third, ahead of Paddy Twomey, in the trainers' table in terms of prize money when saddling a double at Fairyhouse yesterday and gave an update on his smart three-year-old filly Chasing Paradise. The daughter of Churchill was second to last month's unplaced Oaks favourite Amelia Earhart on her sole start at two, before winning a Curragh maiden on testing ground on her reappearance in early April. She was fourth to subsequent Oaks winner Thundering On in the Salsabil Stakes at Navan later that month, and Murtagh has been biding his time with her since. "I’m just waiting on soft ground. She’s ready to go and I have her entered up in plenty of places, but I think she wants genuine soft ground so we might just have to be patient. “We’re keen to run her and she’s going well, but we’re just waiting for the soft ground as I think it’s important to her. “She’s a nice filly and worth waiting on.” Chasing Paradise holds entries in next week's Stanerra Stakes at Fairyhouse and in the Irish Oaks on July 18th. Additional reporting by Gary Carson
