Red Lacewing

There was a lot to like about the performance that Red Lacewing put up in winning the five-furlong juveniles’ maiden at Naas on Thursday. Slowly away and bustled along a little by Andy Slattery early on, she settled back in the field, but she made good progress against the far rail from the three-furlong marker. She had to be brave to go through a tightening gap on the run to the furlong marker and, once in front, she had to dig deep to fend off the challenge from the Aidan O’Brien-trained colt New York City. The pair of them pulled nicely clear of their rivals, and they clocked a time that was two seconds faster than Rhythm Of Zain clocked in winning the nursery 35 minutes later.

This was a nice step forward by Fozzy Stack’s filly. She had run well on her racecourse debut to finish third in a Navan maiden that is working out ridiculously well already. The winner HMS Endeavour won again at Dundalk next time, the fourth, Exquisite Acclaim, won his maiden at Dundalk on the same evening, and the sixth, Pearl Palinka, won at Down Royal next time. Red Lacewing is a half-sister to The Last Lion, who won the Sirenia Stakes and the Middle Park Stakes as a juvenile for Mark Johnston, and she is out of a half-sister to the Stacks’ Moyglare and Irish 1000 Guineas winner Tarascon. She will be of interest wherever she goes now before the end of the season and, all going well, she is a filly to look forward to next year.
Naas, 16^th September 2021