Donn McClean's Horses To Follow: September 25th to October 2nd

Before we dive in, some basic rules for a horses to follow list is to keep them in a tracker and on your radar for the next three runs, bearing in mind ideal conditions across variables like venue, ground, opposition and price are satisfactory to you as a punter. This column should help you build up a list that proves profitable under those circumstances, provides timely reminders to reduce repeated form study and assist with your enjoyment of a season be it National Hunt or Flat racing in the UK and Ireland and sometimes beyond.

Dual Identity - Newmarket, September 24th 2022

Dual Identity did well to finish third in the Cambridgeshire last Saturday, racing towards the far side from his low draw. Nicely settled just behind the leaders in the group of eight runners who raced on the far side, he travelled well to the three-furlong marker, but by that stage the stands-side group had a significant advantage over the far-side group. Switched outside the far-side leader, Protagonist, on the run into the Dip, he got past Protagonist by the time they got to the furlong pole, and he probably hit the front overall, but he had nothing to race with over there, and he was run down close home by Majestic and Bell Rock, who both raced near side.

It was a fine effort by William Knight's horse. In finishing third overall; he pulled five lengths clear of the next best horse who raced on the far side. He was the only horse who raced on the far side to finish in the first nine. He is not obviously unexposed - this was his 18th race - but he is still only four and has made significant progress this season. 

His last three runs have been the best three runs of his career, taking him from a mark of 80 in July to his new mark of 95. That is just 4lb higher than the mark off which he raced in the Cambridgeshire, and that is a mark off which he will be of interest whenever he races next. He is entered in the Balmoral Handicap at Ascot on Champions' Day, but he probably won't get into that as you probably need to be rated in the 100s to get into it, but he will be of interest wherever he goes next, and he does have form on easy ground.

Lot Of Joy - The Curragh, September 25th 2022

Waterville put up a remarkable performance to win the Irish Cesarewitch. A three-year-old and coming from last to first under an inspired ride by Wayne Lordan to get up and win by a neck is almost unheard of. But it was a race in which the early pace was strong, and Lot Of Joy did well to finish third.

Prominent early on from her wide draw, 29 of 30, Danny Tudhope allowed her to drift back in the field a little behind the strong pace as they raced down the back straight. Wide the whole way, Willie Mullins' filly made ground on the outside as they raced down the hill. Wide around the final turn, she picked up well when her rider asked her to, and she moved in towards the inside into the slipstream of the two leaders. 

She moved up on the outside of Yaxeni and hit the front as they raced inside the two-furlong marker, and she battled back well when she was challenged by Ruling and by her stable companion Echoes In Rain. In the end, she held off Ruling's challenge and, while she gave best to Echoes In Rain, and had no answer to Waterville's finishing surge, she kept on willingly all the way to the line to retain third place, beaten a total of one length by the winner.

It was a big run by the Camelot filly on just her second run in Ireland. Winner of the Swedish St Leger last October, and a winner over a mile-and-a-half on dirt on her final run for Wido Neuroth at Jagersro in Sweden, she ran a big race in the Connacht Hotel Handicap at Galway in July on her first run for Willie Mullins, travelling well and keeping on well up the hill to take fourth place behind her stable companion Echoes In Rain and complete a 1-2-4 for her trainer in the race. 

A half-sister to Ebor winner and Irish St Leger winner Sonnyboyliston, she will be of interest if she take up her entry in the Cesarewitch at Newmarket next week, a race in which her trainer has seven entries, but a race that he has won three times in the last four years.

Clever And Cool - The Curragh, September 25th 2022

Clever And Cool can be marked up at least a little on the bare form of the performance that she put up in finishing fourth in the Group 3 Weld Park Stakes at The Curragh last Sunday. Slowly away and settled at the rear of the field early on by Kevin Manning, she was still last of the 10 runners as they passed the three-furlong marker. Racing on the outside of the field, she picked up well when her rider asked her for her effort. She moved forward on the outside of runners and probably moved into second place behind Basil Martini. She couldn't sustain her challenge and her run flattened out through the final 150 yards as her exertions took their toll. She was run out of the places in the end, but she was only beaten a neck and the same for second.

This was a race in which the early pace held up. The winner made all, and the second and third both raced prominently, so it was a fine effort by Jim Bolger's filly to get as close as she did after she missed the break. She only made her racecourse debut in early September, when she was impressive in winning her maiden at Cork over five furlongs, and she shaped well next time in finishing fourth behind Zarinsk in the Listed Ingabelle Stakes at Leopardstown on Irish Champions' Weekend. She showed lots of pace here, as she did when she won over the minimum trip at Cork on her debut, so a drop back down to six furlongs might suit her. She is by Vocalised out of a Whipper mare, so it may be that soft ground is important to her. The form of the Weld Park Stakes got a nice boost on Sunday when Gan Teorainn, Clever And Cool's lesser-fancied stable companion, ran a massive race to finish second in the Group 1 Prix Marcel Boussac at Longchamp, and Clever And Cool will be of interest if she races again now before the end of the season.

Espionage - The Curragh, September 25th 2022

Espionage ran out a good winner of the opening two-year-olds' maiden at The Curragh last Sunday, building on his encouraging racecourse debut at Galway three weeks earlier. Sharply away and allowed stride on into the lead early on by Ryan Moore, he led against the far rail as his rivals fanned out across the track behind him. His rider gave him a squeeze as they reached the two-furlong marker, and he picked up well at that point, putting a distance of ground between himself and his pursuers. His stable companion, Sierra Blanca, finished off his race well out in the centre of the track, as did Michael O'Callaghan's newcomer Djockovic, and Thalara stuck to her task well, but it never looked like any of them were going to get to the leader, who still had almost two lengths in hand when he got to the winning line.

It was a nice performance by Aidan O'Brien's colt and a nice step forward from that encouraging racecourse debut at Galway, when he was slowly away but stayed on strongly up the hill to take second place behind his stable companion Alexandroupolis over an extended mile on soft ground. By Galileo out of Ribblesdale Stakes winner Even Song, it wasn't certain that the drop down to seven furlongs would be ideal, but he showed plenty of pace early on, and he went to the line strongly. 

He will be a horse for middle distances next year, all things being equal, but Aidan O'Brien won this race two years ago with Van Gogh, who finished second in the Autumn Stakes at Newmarket next time and won the Group 1 Criterium International at Saint-Cloud over a mile on his final run of the season, and Espionage will be of interest if he does race again this season. The Criterium International or the Vertem Futurity Trophy would both be legitimate targets.

Maggie McGrath - Cork, September 27th 2022

Maggie McGrath kept on well to take second place behind Mount Ruapehu in the five-furlong juveniles' maiden at Cork on Tuesday. Well away and prominent from early behind the ultimate winner, she came under a ride as they raced past the two-furlong marker. The leader quickened up smartly in front of her and, while she appeared to be caught a little for speed at that point, she kept on strongly through the final furlong to get to within a length of the winner closing all the way to the line.

All three of Kieran Cotter's filly's runs now have been over five furlongs, and she has shaped on each occasion as if she could benefit from a step up in trip. On her last run before Tuesday, she kept on well to take third place in a five-furlong race at Dundalk behind Congo River, who finished a close-up third in the Listed Legacy Stakes back at Dundalk last Friday. A half-sister to A Step Too Far, who was fast and won the Joe McGrath Handicap over five furlongs, the sixth in a six-race winning spree that took her from a handicap mark of 50 to a mark of 91, but she was also effective over six furlongs. Maggie McGrath should be able to continue her progress now, and she could be seen to even better effect if she steps up in trip before the end of the season.