6.15 1m. 4f. 17 Declared. Irish Stallion Farms EBF 'Ragusa' H'cap of €45,000.00 4-y-o plus
1st - €26,550.00 2nd - €9,000.00 3rd - €4,500.00 4th - €2,250.00 5th - €1,350.00 6th - €900.00
FormscanBy Alan Magee - MELBURNIAN showed promise on a number of occasions last year including when runner-up at Newmarket before opening her account over this trip in the Tote October Handicap at Leopardstown. Tony Martin’s charge handled testing ground well on that occasion and any significant rain won’t hurt her chance. Stable-companion Tudor City enjoyed his finest hour to-date when landing the Galway Hurdle last summer but doesn’t appear the same force on the Flat. Mother Vincent was another that appreciated plenty of cut in the ground when completing a hat-trick last autumn but has gone up a total of 20lb as a result, while War Diary won this corresponding race last year off a mark of 80 for John Murphy and changed hands for 200,000 at the boutique sale on Irish Champions Weekend. Joseph O’Brien saddles the top three in the handicap and King’s Vow comes here off the back of two wins at Dundalk including a victory over Kasperenko (now 10lb better off). John Ess also enjoyed a good time of it on the Polytrack earlier this year, while Tartlette is one to note at the bottom of the weights. An 11,000 guineas purchase out of Hughie Morrison’s yard last July, she won twice in the style of a progressive filly at Dundalk last backend. Jessica Harrington has her string in top form and Lynwood Gold, successful twice for Mark Johnston, reverts to the Flat after taking well to hurdles last winter.
An extended handicap for four years old and upwards that are EBF eligible and that at entry have run three or more times under any Rules of Racing, at least one of those runs having been over a distance of nine furlongs or more on or after 1st May, 2019 (100 = 10st) Weights - Top weight in the original handicap and after the time of declaration shall not be less than 10st and the minimum weight is 8st 6lbs Penalties - (after calculation of the handicap) A winner shall carry 6lb extra for each race won.