Course specialist bids for eighth Curragh success Veteran sprinter Benbaun bids to secure an amazing eighth victory at the Curragh in the Patrick P. O'Leary Memorial Phoenix Sprint on Sunday. Kevin Ryan's eight-year-old gelding was last seen defeating the reopposing Snaefell by two and a half lengths in the Sapphire Stakes. "He's a grand old horse to have in the yard," said the North Yorkshire handler. Snaefell will again go head to head with the James Ryan-trained Perfect Polly, who defeated Michael Halford's charge by a neck in a Listed contest at Tipperary last Sunday. Aidan O'Brien fields Gluteus Maximus and Heart Shaped, who drops back in trip, with experienced campaigner Icelandic representing the yard of Frank Sheridan. David Brown will hope progressive three-year-old Doncaster Rovers builds on his victory at Chester two weeks ago when he becomes the Yorkshire trainer's first ever runner in Ireland. Vocalised, a two-time Group Three scorer, chalked up four victories in a row before coming second-last in a Group One at Longchamp. He will attempt to make a winning return on Irish soil for Jim Bolger. Tracey Collins' Girouette, who claimed the scalp of Perfect Polly in a July Listed race over course and distance, and Croisultan complete the field.
