By Sean Cronin
Noel Meade trainee Caught U Looking (Ire) (Harzand {Ire}–Wild Mix {GB}, by Mastercraftsman {Ire}) posted an impressive five-length tally when shedding maiden status at Leopardstown in July and made a smooth transition to black-type company with a landmark success in an attritional renewal of Sunday's G3 Weld Park S. at the Curragh.
The 4-1 chance broke smartly from the outside stall and raced without cover in fifth through the initial fractions of this third start at the seven-furlong trip. Inching closer to the leading duo from halfway, she came under pressure passing the quarter-mile marker and was driven out inside the final furlong to deny Sakti (Ire) (Caravaggio) by a half-length in the dying embers. Long-time leader Brilliant (Ire) (Gleneagles {Ire}) kept on gamely once headed and finished a neck adrift in a close-up third.
“She won easy enough in Leopardstown and there was plenty of interest in her, but Tony O'Callaghan, despite all the horses he has, wasn't for selling,” explained trainer Noel Meaded. “He just wanted to keep her and said to roll the dice and see how she goes. Obviously there is a little bit of pressure on when you do that and [breeder] Peter [Kelly] was happy enough to do that as well. She's a good filly and she's a filly that will improve because she's a Harzand. She's going to be better next year, and probably a mile-and-a-half filly. I know she only just won, but Ger [Lyons] thinks quite a lot of his filly and you are always running against something decent from Ballydoyle. It's hard to win a stakes race in Ireland. Ben [Coen] said she was a little green and leaning away from them in the last furlong-and-a-half. He said she'll come on a ton. With the ground the way it was, it maybe suited her more than the others because of her stamina.”
Caught U Looking 👀
The Group 1-entered daughter of Harzand created quite an impression at Leopardstown and she's taken the rise in class in her stride.@tuvastables has a filly that might just be heading to the top!@curraghrace | @BenCoen2 pic.twitter.com/EIat2NbC8q
— Racing TV (@RacingTV) September 24, 2023
Pedigree Notes
Caught U Looking, half-sister to a weanling colt by Supremacy (Ire), is the first of two foals out of an unraced half-sister to G3 Abernant S. and G3 Supreme S. winner Double Or Bubble (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}) and G3 Chartwell Fillies' S. victrix Mix And Mingle (Ire) (Exceed And Excel {Aus}). The March-foaled bay's second dam Mango Lady (GB) (Dalakhani {Ire}) is a winning half-sister to MGSW G1 St Leger and G1 Rheinland-Pokal runner-up High Accolade (GB) (Mark Of Esteem {Ire}) and the dual stakes-placed Oasis Knight (Ire) (Oasis Dream {GB}).
Sunday, Curragh, Ireland
WELD PARK S.-G3, €55,000, Curragh, 9-24, 2yo, f, 7fT, 1:30.33, sf.
1–CAUGHT U LOOKING (IRE), 128, f, 2, by Harzand (Ire)
1st Dam: Wild Mix (GB), by Mastercraftsman (Ire)
2nd Dam: Mango Lady (GB), by Dalakhani (Ire)
3rd Dam: Generous Lady (GB), by Generous (Ire)
1ST BLACK-TYPE WIN; 1ST GROUP WIN. (€27,000 Ylg '22 GOAUYR). O-Anthony F O'Callaghan & Sabina Kelly; B-Kelly Equine Services (IRE); T-Noel Meade; J-Ben Coen. €33,000. Lifetime Record: 3-2-0-0, $51,921. Werk Nick Rating: B+. Click for the eNicks report & 5-cross pedigree, or the free Equineline.com catalogue-style pedigree.
2–Sakti (Ire), 128, f, 2, Caravaggio–Oh Grace (Ire), by Lawman (Fr). (€52,000 Wlg '21 GOFNO1). O-David Spratt, Sean Jones & Mrs Lynne Lyons; B-T Darcy & V McCarthy (IRE); T-Ger Lyons. €11,000.
3–Brilliant (Ire), 128, f, 2, Gleneagles (Ire)–Plying, by Hard Spun. (650,000gns Ylg '22 TATOCT). O-D Smith, Mrs J Magnier, M Tabor & Westerberg; B-Jossestown Farm (IRE); T-Aidan O'Brien. €5,500.
Margins: HF, NK, 2 3/4. Odds: 4.00, 2.25, 7.00.
Also Ran: Dollerina (Ire), Settlement (GB), Content (Ire), Peggy O'Neil (Ire).
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