A total of 54 juveniles remain in the running for the €300,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes at Naas set for Monday, Aug. 5. This is the fifth edition of the lucrative prize, and nine challengers hail from British yards.
Hugo Palmer, who won the race last year, brings classy Chester scorer The Flying Seagull (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}) across the Irish Sea.
“The Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes is a race we were keen to support having won it last year with Golden Trick (Ire) (Galileo Gold {GB}) and it is a great initiative of Joe Foley's so we are looking forward to returning,” Palmer said on Wednesday.
“We did have quite a large number of entries in the race but we have whittled it down to The Flying Seagull and we are hoping he can run well.
“We were delighted with his win at Chester and then things just went a bit awkwardly for him back at Chester last time out. I thought he probably should have won that day but didn't jump well and things just didn't go right so he will have to put that behind him but we are looking forward to going back to Naas.”
Of the 54 horses aiming to scoop the Ballyhane, 19 have already visited the winner's circle, among them course-and-distance winners Amazing Athena (Ire) (Mehmas {Ire}) and Shiota (Ire) (Tamayuz {GB}) for Johnny Murtagh and Joe Murphy, respectively.
Aidan O'Brien won the first edition of the Ballyhane, and he currently has Heavens Gate (Ire) (Churchill {Ire}) and Right And True (Ire) (Arizona {Ire}) signed on. His son, Joseph, also sports a victory in the fledgling showpiece and has left in And So To Bed (Ire) (Kodiac {GB}), Elzem (Ire) (Elzaam {Aus}), Midnight Strike (Ire) (Starspangledbanner {Aus}) and Pompano Beach (Ire) (Ten Sovereigns {Ire}).
Joe Foley, owner of Ballyhane Stud, said, “It is phenomenal to have 54 horses still in contention at the five-day entry stage and with nine of them UK based it shows how this race continues to capture the attention of owners and trainers from both sides of the Irish Sea.
“A full field of 24 of these horses will get the chance to race next Monday and with prize-money down to 12th place, half of the field will come away with money ranging from €150,000 to €4,000. This shows how a valuable race like the €300,000 Irish EBF Ballyhane Stakes is such a centrepiece for connections of two year olds to target each year.”
The day's card will begin at 2:20 p.m. local time. For the current entry list, please visit the Naas Racecourse website.
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