Sparan Nua drops back to a mile on Thursday evening at Leopardstown following her excellent Irish Oaks third.
Bred by her trainer Jim Bolger, the Dawn Approach daughter racked up a hat-trick of wins after debuting in May. Her unbeaten streak came undone in the Fillies Classic, but she got going too late as Johanna Walsh had already flown.
She stayed on well there and had previously been strong over twelve furlongs when winning a Cork group 3. She had won comfortably over a mile on debut, and connections are happy to drop back in trip for the Desmond Stakes.
Speaking to the Press Association, via At The Races, Newton Anner Studs racing manager P J Colville said: “We are delighted and so far so good with her. She’s back to a mile and the reason for that is to try and open up more options for her.
“She won a maiden over a mile. It’s a different path from a maiden to a Group Three at a mile, but Jim is very happy. She’s working well so we are going to give it a shot and see how we go.”
Connections keen to explore trip options
From the family of Bolger’s 2007 Phoenix and Moylgare Stakes winner Saoirse Abu, it’s no surprise he believes she’s speedy enough to drop back. She has two entries in Group 1 twelve furlong races, but also holds a Sun Chariot entry over a mile.
Colville continued: “If she manages to win, it opens up a lot of avenues. She’s in the Yorkshire Oaks and that’s still a definite possibility. So we will see how we go on Thursday and make a plan from there.
“We’ve gone from a mile to a mile and a half pretty quickly so there are other distances that we can try out there. It just gives us more options if we can win on Thursday.”
Sparan Nua will face two British raiders on what looks to be a fascinating midweek card. William Haggas’ Needle Match The Night Of Thunder colt hasn’t been seen since bombing out in the 2000 Guineas. He made a successful debut at Newbury on soft ground last October. He was fourth in the Greenham on seasonal debut, but came unstuck on a firmer surface at Newmarket.
David O’Meara also makes the voyage across the Irish Sea with Audience. The Iffraaj gelding was formally high class, winning the Group 1 Lockinge for the Gosden’s in 2024. Having lost his way, Audience returned to form when third in the Group 2 Minstrel Stakes at the Curragh last time out.