chased leaders, 2nd briefly under 3f out, ridden in 4th 2f out, soon no impression
chased leaders, went 2nd 2f out, soon ridden, disputed lead over 1f out, soon strongly pressed, headed inside final furlong, dropped to 3rd and no extra close home
chased leaders in 5th, took keen hold, headway into 3rd travelling well 2f out, pushed along under 1f out, ridden to lead narrowly inside final furlong, stayed on well close home, cosily
chased leader in 2nd, improved to lead 3f out, ridden 2f out, joined over 1f out, soon strongly pressed, headed inside final furlong, kept on same pace close home
towards rear and took keen hold, ridden 3f out, no impression
in rear, pushed along under 3f out, ridden in 5th 2f out, no impression in 4th final furlong, kept on same pace
led, ridden and headed 3f out, soon weakened
ELEGANT POSE (NAP) won three of only four starts last year and saved her best until last when pouncing late to land a Listed race over track and trip in October. Ger Lyons’ filly beat Making Light with Panstarr further behind on that occasion and can confirm superiority with more to come this year. Making Light subsequently won at Leopardstown so the form looks solid and the latter is the biggest danger to the selection once again. The remainder having plenty to find both on form and at the weights, including Bumbasina and the UK raider Star Quality.
Bumbasina (IRE) 16-1 (8-13) Prominent and disputed early, tracked leaders, headway to dispute briefly 2f out, ridden over 1f out and no impression inside final furlong, kept on one pace, 3rd of 10, 4 1/2l behind Brendan Brackan (9-10) at Cork 1m lst stks sft in Oct.
Elegant Pose (IRE) 9-4fav (9-0) Mid-division, pushed along in 7th 2f out, some headway over 1f out, switched right and kept on well inside final furlong to lead on line, won at Naas 1m lst stks (1) sft in Oct beating Making Light (9-0) by shd, 14 ran.
Making Light (IRE) 6-1 (9-0) Held up, soon raced in 10th, closed from over 2f out, chased leader 1f out, kept on well inside final furlong and slightly impeded, just failed, promoted to 1st, 2nd of 15, shd behind Spanish Tenor (9-5) at Leopardstown 7f lst stks (1) Yielding in Oct.
Panstarr 8-1 (9-0) Soon led, pushed along in straight and ridden over 2f out, headed 1 1/2f out, no extra inside final furlong, 4th of 14, 4 1/4l behind Elegant Pose (9-0) at Naas 1m lst stks (1) sft in Oct.
Saint Irini (IRE) 66-1 (9-9) Chased leaders, 2nd halfway, ridden 2f out, no extra 1 1/2f out, 12th of 14, 10 1/2l behind Teo's Music (9-9) at Dundalk 1m 3f hcp pol in Nov.
Simmie (IRE) (8-9) 8th of 12, 5 3/4l behind The Right Man (9-6) at Maisons-Laffitte 6f Grp 3 stks gs in Nov.
Star Quality 16-1 (8-12) Tracked leader, ridden to lead over 1f out, headed inside final furlong, no extra, 5th of 8, 4 1/4l behind Second Thought (9-6) at Wolverhampton 7f lst stks (1) pol in Mar.
