Rock De Baune

Rock De Baune did well to keep on as well as he did to finish sixth behind Foveros in the two-mile handicap that brought proceedings to a conclusion at The Curragh on Sunday. Billy Lee settled him at the rear of the field, he was stone last setting out, and he was still last as they started to run down the hill with five furlongs to go. But he travelled well and he made nice ground up on the outside of runners as they started down the hill. He moved into fifth place as they raced to the two-furlong marker, as Foveros challenged Dinard Rose for the lead, but his run just flattened out from there, as he started to tire. He just kept on from there and lost fifth place to Yenillik close home.

It was still a fine run by JP McManus’ horse, on his first run for Aidan Howard and his first run for 512 days. The last time we had seen him, he had finished seventh behind Treacysenniscorthy in the Pertemps Qualifier at Leopardstown’s Christmas Festival in 2019. His last run on the flat before Sunday was in the 2019 Irish Cesarewitch, in which he finished third behind Royal Illusion and Dalton Highway. He is a talented individual, and he proved here that he retains lots of ability. He is seven, but this was just his fifth run on the flat, racing, as he was, off a handicap rating of 84, 4lb lower than the mark off which he finished third in the Irish Cesarewitch. The handicapper left him on that mark, and he should be able to build on this run now.
The Curragh, 23^rd May 2021