Stanhope

Stanhope is nine years old now, and he has run 65 times, but he is of interest on the evidence of the performance that he put up in finishing third in the six-furlong handicap at Naas last Saturday. Held up early on, in a race in which the pace held up well, it was admirable that he was able to keep on as well as he did to take third place. He finished three lengths behind the winner Livingstone Range, but it was a race in which it was difficult to make ground from the rear, as it often is at Naas. The winner and the runner-up, American In Paris, disputed the lead from early, racing on either side of the track. Also, the form of the race is working out well already, with eighth-placed Amanirenas winning at Fairyhouse on Wednesday, and seventh-placed Tammany Hall doing best of the low-drawn horses in a five-furlong handicap at Navan on Saturday.

Stanhope runs well at Naas, but his record says that he is even better at Navan. Three of John McConnell’s horse’s six wins have been at the County Meath track, all three over five or five and a half furlongs, all three on good ground or softer. Stanhope will be of interest again now off his mark of 53, and he will be of particular interest when he returns to Navan, ideally on easy ground.
Naas, 8^th July 2023