Performance Review

May 2024

It was a great result for Al Shira'aa Farms and the team here at Rathbride when Ocean Jewel got her season off to a winning start in the Group 2 Lanwades Stud Stakes on Guineas weekend at the Curragh.

She was a winner at Group 3 level in the Ballycorus Stakes over seven furlongs last season, so we were delighted to see her add a Group 2 to her CV over a mile. She’s a very well-bred filly who we’ve always liked. We thought that if she settled, she’d give herself a good chance at this trip and thankfully it worked out well for everyone. Her next target is the Duke Of Cambridge Stakes at Royal Ascot.

Ocean Jewel starts her season off with a win at the Curragh

In the same colours, we were proud of Vespertilio’s run in the French 1000 Guineas when only beaten a head and a neck in third. She got caught wide but ran a lovely race and finished out well. I felt she came out of it in good form but, in hindsight, I probably shouldn’t have run her back in the Irish 1000 Guineas a fortnight later - it rained too much for her prior to the race.

It’s possible that we could end up seeing the best of this filly at seven furlongs; they might go a tad faster at that trip and it could help her to settle. I’m thinking of the Prix Jean Prat as a race that could possibly suit.

We had three other fillies visit the winner’s enclosure from Rathbride during the month too. Party Dress is an honest type and I was very pleased to see her open her account in a maiden at Tipperary for the Party Dress Partnership, which consists of Amanda and her good friend Susan Archdeacon. We don’t tend to run many horses over hurdles but that could be an option for this filly. She jumps brilliantly and looks to have a good attitude.

Party Dress wins at Tipperary

Concluding Call wasn’t winning out of turn either after a solid first start back at the Curragh, getting off the mark in a mile maiden at Navan. She’s a well-bred filly for her owner-breeder Francois Garavaglia-Drion, and I was very happy that we managed to get a winning bracket with her. I’m sure we’ll be trying our best to get a bit of blacktype in time.

Concluding Call gets off the mark at Navan

I thought it was a lovely performance from Amazon Lady when notching her second win for us in a five-furlong handicap at Navan. She’s in-foal to New Bay for Madeline Burns and looks fantastic - she’s really thrived this year. She’ll have an entry for the Rockingham Handicap on Derby weekend at the Curragh but I’ll have a chat with connections and see what route we end up going with her.

A second win for Amazon Lady at Navan

Cancelled made a good start to her career when second at Cork on her debut over a mile and a half. She looks a nice three-year-old for Sabah Alsabah and we’ll look at running her next in a 10-furlong fillies’ maiden at Navan.

It was a real pity that Counterculture got collared in the dying strides on her first start at Tipperary, but she showed plenty of promise in second. She’s a lovely, big mare who runs in the colours of Joya Burns, and I hope she’ll give everyone plenty of fun as she progresses.

Finally, Charles Atlas ran a decent race when third in a sprint handicap at Navan. I was a bit disappointed with him later in the month at Down Royal when sixth. Fingers crossed he can build on that going forward.

Thankfully, the horses seem to be running well and we were pleased to come away with four winners in the month of May. There were also some other promising efforts with a view to the future, so hopefully we’ll have more to look forward to with those horses as the season goes on.