Highland Dress

Highland Dress was impressive in winning the 7f maiden. John Oxx’s colt travelled well for Colm O’Donoghue on the near side, towards the rear of the stands-side group. He made nice progress on the stands side on the run to the two-furlong marker to join the front rank, and he picked up impressively when his rider asked him to, keeping on well to beat Arabeska by over two lengths, with the pair of them coming nicely clear of their rivals.

It was a good performance from the Shamardal colt on his racecourse debut. Arabeska brought a nice level of form into the race, Willie McCreery’s filly was second in a maiden at Dundalk in April and she was third in a maiden at Gowran Park two weeks earlier, and she had race-fitness on her side, yet Highland Dress beat her fairly comfortably, with the pair of them clear. It was a really nice start to his racing career by a colt who appears to be well regarded by his trainer. The Godolphin colt will be interesting now as he steps up in class. This seven furlongs looks like a good trip for him, and the Jersey Stakes at Royal Ascot would be a legitimate target.

Cork, 22^nd May 2019