Sir Sagacious catches the eye on his second outing at the Curragh on Wednesday evening.
The Willie Browne-trained gelding was well backed on his debut at Dundalk back in February and bumped into a big improver that day, in Take Me To Church.
That form has received a couple of significant boosts since with the winner a wide margin winner of the Madrid Handicap at Naas and fifth in the Irish 2,000 Guineas on his most recent outing.
Sir Sagacious was green on his first run and looked like he would improve from that initial experience.
He hasn’t been rushed back into action and this looks like a nice spot to bring him back after a short break.
A drop in trip doesn’t look like it should be a problem given the way he travelled first time and his pedigree is all speed as his sire and dam were both sprinters.
The standard in this six furlong maiden is set by the 83-rated Ojw Legacy and she has been knocking on the door recently.
She hasn’t been doing too much wrong to be fair to her and it was another solid effort to chase home Apricot Ice over course and distance 13 days ago.
Likewise Gaenari has been hitting the crossbar of late and also has to come into the mix but she’s becoming a touch frustrating.
It looks like a solid enough maiden but Sir Sagacious appeals as one that could be an improver.
In the Ebor trial Saturn looks on a nice weight as he steps up significantly in trip.
The regally-bred son of Galileo, and brilliant mare Alpha Centauri, hasn’t exactly lived up to that pedigree yet but he is developing into a good handicapper.
He gained a narrow win on his comeback run at Leopardstown and ran well in another competitive contest when third to Crystal Black here 11 days ago.
Both those came over 10 furlongs and there looks scope for further improvement from him as a stayer.
He won over a mile-and-a-half last year and that was his best effort to date. Going another couple of furlongs now could unlock a bit more.
His trainer, Jessica Harrington, also looks to have a leading contender in the opening two-year-old maiden.
Hotazhell was unlucky in running when a well-backed favourite for his debut at Leopardstown last month.
He got caught on the rail then, with nowhere to go, and stayed on strongly in the closing stages to finish fourth to Scorthy Champ. The Too Darn Hot colt can gain compensation now.
SELECTION NEXT BEST
4.50: Hotazhell Swagman
5.20: Tunbridge Wells Zambales
5.55: Mother Nature Alinta
6.25: Air Force One Kendall Roy
7.00: Saturn (Dbl) Fairytale Princess
7.30: Sir Sagacious (Nap) Ojw Legacy
8.00: Inishmot Prince Saturn Seven
8.30: Layoftheland Fivecromwellplace
