Duke Of North was scratched earlier at Brighton after the
forecast rain failed to materialise. Unbelievably, there was torrential rain
everywhere in the South of the UK except down by the seaside and that just
about sums up my luck in the last few days. My two tips for Mybettingbonus were
also pulled out and as frustrating days go this one has been up there with the
best (or worst!) of them. Hopefully my fancy for Thursday at least makes it to the track,
and if she does I think Sappho looks well overpriced if she can build on a very
promising debut at the Curragh.
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| Henry de Bromhead has a well bred filly in Sappho. |
This 2yo daughter of Teofilo was sent off at a big price on
debut at the Curragh (6f gd/fm) but Henry de Bromhead must have been massively
encouraged by what he saw. Colin Keane settled her in rear of mid division and
as the front two made their move she was stuck behind a wall of horses on the
inner. She had to be switched a couple of times by Keane to get a clear run,
and while the leaders had flown by the time she got, out she stayed on eye-catchingly
under hands and heels for 4th.
This filly is exceedingly well bred and anyone who is a
regular reader of this blog will know how highly I regard Teofilo as a sire. She is
out of a very useful mare called Katla and I think her price tag of 30k euros
could turn out to be an absolute snip. Katla was a dual Listed winner at 6f and
she herself is out of a half sister to 2yo Group 1 winner Wootton Basset.
Teofilo was also a winner at the highest level as a juvenile so Sappho is bred to be
a fast filly as a 2yo.
It is encouraging that Keane has kept the faith with Sappho
and he is a pilot of the highest quality. Her trainer, Henry de Bromhead, is
better known for his exploits with his jumpers but he has shown he is more than
able to train them for the level too. He has trained 7 winners and has had 23
places from 107 runners on the flat and the war office, who owns her, will be
putting the pressure on him to get a win out of this filly.
Sappho faces the same ground and distance as she did on
debut and she faces some potentially useful types here. On paper, the Michael O’Callaghan
trained favourite Man Power looks the one to beat but his debut run came on
yielding and the son of Dandy Man isn’t guaranteed to handle the quicker
conditions at Leopardstown. Jim Bolger drops his filly New To Town in trip and
she should go well, while Jessie Harrington’s expensive debutant Landshark is
another potential fly in the ointment.
However, I saw enough from Sappho on debut to suggest she is
well up to winning a maiden and I think she would have definitely got 3rd with
a clearer passage at the Curragh. She has the pedigree, her draw in stall 6
shouldn’t be an issue and she has a top class pilot on board. I think this
filly looks well overpriced at odds of 18/1 and if she gets more luck in
running than last time she could go very close.
STEVOS’ SELECTION: 17.15-SAPPHO
E/W @ 18/1
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