Kassaba

Kassaba put up a nice performance to win the one-mile fillies’ maiden. Weak in the market beforehand, she was away well, and she settled nicely in second place behind a decent pace that Paradiso set. She travelled well into the home straight, and she picked up nicely to challenge and pass the leader on the run to the furlong pole. She quickly went clear and, while her stable companion Zawara kept on well to run her to three parts of a length, Kassaba was probably idling, and she stayed on gamely and willingly anyway herself to hold her comfortably enough.

Dermot Weld’s filly ran just once last year as a juvenile, she showed a lot of promise in finishing fourth from a wide draw behind Howling Wolf and this year’s Irish Derby winner Santiago in a seven-furlong maiden at Leopardstown in July on good ground. The ground was softer on Saturday, and she was stepping up to a mile, but she coped with all of that well. It was her first run since that run last July, so she could improve significantly for it. A half-sister to Group 3 Loughbrown Stakes winner Kastasa, and out of a half-sister to Irish St Leger winner Kastoria, she could improve again for stepping up in trip beyond a mile.

Naas, 4^th July 2020