Ocean Jewel

Ocean Jewel looked good in winning the Group 3 Ballycorus Stakes at Leopardstown on Thursday evening. She did everything well. She settled nicely into her racing rhythm, just up on the outside of leader Agartha. She travelled well out of the back straight and into the home straight and, when Billy Lee asked her for her effort on the run to the furlong marker, she showed a smart turn of foot to put distance between herself and her rivals. She idled a little once she got to the front, but she kept on well, she was always holding her rivals at bay, and she left the impression that she was winning with more in hand than the one-and-a-quarter-length winning margin.

Willie McCreery’s filly continues to progress. Winner of her maiden at Down Royal last September as a juvenile, she put up a career-best performance on her debut this season when she finished third behind The Antarctic and Ocean Quest in the Group 3 Lacken Stakes at Naas over six furlongs, and this was probably a step forward from that. It was her first time to take on her elders, and it was her first time to race over seven furlongs. She stayed the trip well, and that opens up options for her. The Al Shira’aa Farms filly is an immaculately-bred filly, a half-sister to 1000 Guineas winner Mother Earth, and this was just her fifth race, so there is no knowing how high she could go now. She will be of interest wherever she goes next.
Leopardstown, 15^th June 2023