RACING:It may be November but the 2013 Classics will still be at the forefront of minds in Paris today when Johnny Murtagh teams up with the unbeaten Viztoria in a Group Two event at Maisons-Laffitte.
The Eddie Lynam-trained filly is already as low as 12 to 1 joint second favourite for next year’s 1,000 Guineas at Newmarket following a seven-and-a-half-length demolition job in a listed race at the Curragh at the end of September.
Today she lines up in the 10-runner Criterium De Maisons-Laffitte over six furlongs, a race in which David Wachman runs Three Sea Captains, winner of a valuable sales event at Fairyhouse last time.
“She’s drawn 10 of 10 and the ground is heavy but she’s in good order and she’ll actually like the going,” said Lynam who took over Viztoria from Ado McGuinness after her Naas debut in the summer.
Other Irish interest at the Paris track today centres on David Nagle’s prolific sprinter Maarek who goes in the Group Three Prix de Seine-Et-Oise. Séamus Heffernan rides.
Elsewhere Wayne Lordan rides the David Evans trained Queen Aggie in the Group Three Prix Miesque.
Hurricane Fly is on course to return to action at Punchestown on Sunday week and settle some unfinished business with the Grade One €80,000 feature there. The 2011 Stan James Champion Hurdle hero ran once before in the Dobbins and Madigans Morgiana Hurdle but could finish only third to his old rival Solwhit in the 2009 renewal.
That is one of just two defeats in the Willie Mullins trained star’s last 13 starts, the other being a third behind Rock On Ruby in last March’s title defence at Cheltenham.
Afterwards Hurricane Fly returned to winning form at the Punchestown festival but Mullins is keen to start off again with a clean-sheet in this campaign. “Things just didn’t go right for him last season and he wasn’t quite 100 per cent at home early on,” the champion trainer reported yesterday. “All going well I’m really looking forward to getting him back to proper form.”
Mullins nominated the Morgiana as a probable return date for the son of Montjeu who is a 6 to 1 favourite with the Champion Hurdle sponsors to become the first since Comedy Of Errors in 1975 to regain the hurdling crown.
The star performer at Punchestown today is Dedigout, the latest of the powerful Gigginstown Stud team of novices to kick off a fencing career in the opening Beginners Chase.
Dedigout won four of his five hurdles starts, including in the Grade One Cathal Ryan Memorial Hurdle here at the festival so the forecast heavy going this afternoon will be no trouble to him. He has always looked a potential chaser with stamina as a strong point and it will be disappointing if he can’t kick off successfully today.
Another returning to the Co Kildare track is Heck Thomas who goes in the maiden hurdle just a couple of weeks after impressing in a bumper here.
