Asian Daze

Asian Daze can be marked up at least a little on the bare form of the performance that she put up in finishing third behind Zaynab in the one-mile three-year-old fillies’ handicap at The Curragh on Irish 1000 Guineas day. She was settled into a nice position by Rory Mulligan early on from her inside draw, along the rail and just behind the leader Flight Of Fancy, but she was always going to need a gap to develop either inside or outside the leader from that position, and it simply didn’t. Shelaka did drop away towards her outside but, as soon as she did, Profit Refused was there to take her place. When Profit Refused wilted, Asian Daze just didn’t have the push-button acceleration to move up on the outside of the leader before Zaynab moved into that position. In the end, she finished third, leaving the impression that she had more left to give.

It was another good run though from Johnny Murtagh’s filly, building on her victory in a seven-furlong handicap at The Curragh on her seasonal debut. She was up from a handicap rating of 85 to a rating of 95 on Sunday, and she was raised another 2lb for that performance, but she proved there that she was well capable off that type of mark. She goes well at The Curragh, and it appears that she is as effective on good ground as she is on soft. She stays a mile, but it may be that seven furlongs is her absolute optimum. The Premier Fillies’ Handicap over seven furlongs at The Curragh on Irish Derby weekend could be a good race for her as things stand, but she is entered in a listed race at Navan on Saturday, and she will also be of interest if she takes her chance in that.

The Curragh, 26^th May 2024