Royal Ascot heroine Porta Fortuna (Ire) (Caravaggio) is likely to take her chance in the G1 Phoenix S. at the Curragh in August, trainer Donnacha O'Brien revealed on Tuesday.
The undefeated G3 Albany S. heroine, who races for Steve Weston, Barry Fowler, Medallion Racing 2020 and Reeves Racing, broke her maiden at the Curragh in April, before taking the G3 Fillies Sprint S. at Naas in May. She was a length ahead of Matrika (Ire) (No Nay Never) at the royal meeting.
O'Brien said, “She's very good and has come out of the race well. We gave her an easy week after the race to freshen her up and she's back in full work now and everything is going well.
“She's very straightforward and I suppose she's a dream filly to ride as she has plenty of pace, travels well, has a turn of foot and also keeps going at the end as well.
“We're thinking of going for the Phoenix at the minute, the Group 1 at the Curragh. We'll have to take on colts, but we'd like to give her another run at six. We'll put her in the [G2] Lowther [S. at York on Aug. 24] as well as a back-up, that's about a week or two afterwards.”
If the daughter of four-time winner Too Precious (Ire) (Holy Roman Emperor {Ire}) continues her upward trajectory, O'Brien and the ownership group are looking at targets farther afield.
“I suppose later on in the year the targets will be races like the [G1] Cheveley Park [S. at Newmarket on Sept. 30] and the Breeders' Cup [at Santa Anita in November],” added O'Brien.
“We've got a few more runs to go before we get there so I'm sure we'll learn a bit more about her by the time, but the obvious one would be the [GI] Juvenile Fillies' Turf unless for some reason we thought we would go back in trip to the [GI Juvenile Turf] Sprint.”
The Niarchos family's Mysteries (Ire) (No Nay Never) was a maiden winner at Cork in her second start and is now eyeing group company.
“She's a lovely filly and one we've always thought plenty of,” O'Brien added. “The plan at the minute is to go for the [G3] Silver Flash S. at Leopardstown [on July 27] and then for a seven-furlong filly there's a very obvious programme, so it will be there, the [G2] Debutante [S. on Aug. 19] and the [G1] Moyglare [Stud S. on Sept. 10], all being well.”
Former Derby horse Alder (Ire) (Australia {GB}) is also improving from his setback which ruled him out of the earlier Classics. A long-term target is the Listed Diamond S. on Sept. 29 before an international campaign.
“He's good and we gave him a bit of a break but he's back in work now,” said O'Brien. “I'm provisionally aiming him at a listed race in Dundalk in September and then all being well, we could potentially go travelling with him after that.”
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