The Bull Hayes

Put up here last time after he won his maiden over a mile and two furlongs on soft ground at Navan at the end of April, he gave the impression again at The Curragh on Sunday that he was crying out for a step up to a mile and a half. This was a huge step up in class, from a maiden win to a Group 3 contest, but he acquitted himself admirably. Jessica Harrington’s colt only had one of his 10 rivals behind him and was under pressure passing the two-furlong pole, but he stayed on relentlessly under Fran Berry to close right up on the leaders all the way to the line, taking third spot and closing on the really useful pair Grand Ducal and Alaivan all the way to the line.

He is still in the Irish Derby, and he would be of real interest in that at a potentially massive price if the ground were to come up soft or softer. Failing that, he should be able to at least land a Group 3 contest over a mile and a half on easy ground. He doesn’t have an entry in the King Edward VII at Royal Ascot, but he could be one for the King George V Handicap in the unlikely event that it happened to come up on the soft side at Ascot.

24th May 2009