7.05 Leopardstown: Saval Beg Stakes (Listed)

It’s raining cats and dogs here in Dublin this morning which will ensure that the quick ground is going to diminish until the race tonight at Leopardstown. That could destroy the chances for some in this field. Most notably Panama Hat, who is a dubious stayer in my book and has shown his best form on quick ground.

Key form for this race is the Group 3 Vintage Crop Stakes from last month. Exciting stayer Forgotten Rules won the race, with promising Answered in second. More interesting is what happened behind. Race fit Sir Ector finished third, which makes him one of the likelier types today. Not far behind in fourth and fifth that day were Panama Head and Kingfisher. The former one didn’t seem to stay the trip, though.

Kingfisher in contrast seems to get the trip well. He wasn’t knocked over on his seasonal reappearance but made good progress late to pick up Panama Head eventually. He appears to have strengthen up over the winter and a campaign in all the big staying races has been mapped out for him.

He was once a highly promising colt thanks to a runner-up effort in the Irish Derby behind Australia. Deployed as pace maker in most starts last year, he gets now the chance to race for himself. On pedigree he has good credentials to develop into a fine stayer.

On balance, Kingfisher is the best horse in this race. He drops in class should improve from his recent run. If fully wound up one would expect him to beat the rivals he ran close to at Navan. A hood is fitted for the first time too may help him too. In the context of the race I believe he’s a big price.

Kingfisher @ 5/2 Coral – 10pts Win