Plans on hold for Absolute Ruler Moon Daisy’s victory in the concluding 1m4f handicap at Dundalk last night gave Donnacha O’Brien his thirteenth winner of the season but the dual champion jockey turned trainer was out of luck with Absolute Ruler in the listed Star Appeal Stakes. A debut winner on the polytrack in August before being beaten less than a length when third in a Group 2 at Leopardstown on Irish Champions Weekend, the War Front colt was sent off 15/8 favourite in a field of eleven but beat only one home. Out of Group 1 Fillies’ Mile heroine Together Forever who is a full-sister to an Oaks winner, the market leader didn’t quicken early in the straight but kept on to be beaten only a little over four lengths. O’Brien remarked: “He was a bit disappointing and a lot of them are just running moderate. I had a few little sicknesses and things in the yard. We'll take him home and see if he's okay. “The plan was to see if he was sharp enough for seven, to go to the Breeders’ Cup, but he looked like if anything he wanted a mile-and-a-quarter today. “We'll make a plan for him down the line.” Additional reporting by Gary Carson
