Lace Looks Interesting On Handicap Bow At Cork

The ground is going to be extremely testing at Cork on Sunday and as a result small fields are mostly the order of the day. However, a field of 14 will line up for the apprentice handicap at 16.45 and I like the look of Lace Bonnet for Katy Brown and Killian Hennessey.

This 4yo daughter of Mastercraftsman ran her best race to date at this track back in April last year on debut (8.5f hvy) when trained by Joseph Murphy. She was slow away and out the back early on, but she stayed on nicely in the home straight to grab 5th, beaten 16L by the winner Angel Island.

Conditions will be testing at Cork on Sunday.

The 2nd home in that race was Dabulena and that filly has since won a maiden and is now rated 92. The 3rd home was Set In Stone and she won three handicaps in a row after breaking her maiden and was beaten just a length off 92 at Musselburgh last month. Hushing was 3L ahead of Lace Bonnet in 4th and she has also gone on to win a maiden.


Lace Bonnet got the better of Furiosa in a sustained battle by a neck and that filly won a maiden soon after before going on to be beaten just over 6L in a Listed heat. She is now rated 76 so theoretically, if that form is taken at face value, Lace Bonnet looks absolutely chucked in on her handicap debut off a mark of just 54.

She was stepped up in trip on her next start just 10 days later at Dundalk but the surface clearly didn’t suit and she was well beaten in 5th. That was it for the season for her and she was picked up by current connections cheaply at the Goffs Sales in November. She made her seasonal reappearance at Dundalk at the end of last month and she should strip fitter now.

This will be her first run back on heavy ground since her promising debut and it is no surprise that she heads back down South for her handicap bow. Killian Hennessey has been booked for the ride and he claims a useful 2lb. On the evidence of her debut run here the step back up to 10f looks sure to suit and back on heavy ground Lace Bonnet is worth chancing each way for small stakes at odds of 25/1.

STEVOS’ SELECTION: 4.45 CORK-LACE BONNET E/W @ 25/1