Mary Salome

Mary Salome only finished 12th in the one-mile handicap at The Curragh on Saturday, but she was unlucky not to finish closer. Andrew Kenirons’ mare travelled well through her race along the inside, but she just couldn’t get a gap when she needed one.

Luke McAteer didn’t have a lot of options but to ride for luck from stall one and, smartly away, she settled well into her race, along the inside and around mid-division. She travelled well in behind leader Focus Required along the inside rail, but the leader never came off the rail and, consequently, Mary Salome just didn’t have anywhere to go. By the time the field had thinned out and she could come outside the leader, they were inside the final furlong and the finishers down the outside, Masaman and Knocknakilla and You Owe Me Money, were making the best of their way home.

Mary Salome was a big price here, but this performance suggests that she retains lots of her ability. She lost her form at the end of last season, but she had four very good runs in the early part of the season, two of them at The Curragh, and she obviously had a good break through the winter, she didn’t run after Laytown in November last year before she returned on Saturday. She dropped to a mark of 69, 6lb lower than her peak, and she will be of interest off that mark now. She is effective over this seven furlongs, but she gets a mile too. She obviously goes well at The Curragh, and ground on the easy side of good is probably ideal.
The Curragh, 26^th March 2022