Maggie McGrath

Maggie McGrath kept on well to take second place behind Mount Ruapehu in the five-furlong juveniles’ maiden at Cork on Tuesday. Well away and prominent from early behind the ultimate winner, she came under a ride as they raced past the two-furlong marker. The leader quickened up smartly in front of her and, while she appeared to be caught a little for speed at that point, she kept on strongly through the final furlong to get to within a length of the winner closing all the way to the line.

All three of Kieran Cotter’s filly’s runs now have been over five furlongs, and she has shaped on each occasion as if she could benefit from a step up in trip. On her last run before Tuesday, she kept on well to take third place in a five-furlong race at Dundalk behind Congo River, who finished a close-up third in the Listed Legacy Stakes back at Dundalk last Friday. A half-sister to A Step Too Far, who was fast, she won the Joe McGrath Handicap over five furlongs, the sixth in a six-race winning spree that took her from a handicap mark of 50 to a mark of 91, but she was also effective over six furlongs. Maggie McGrath should be able to continue her progress now, and she could be seen to even better effect if she steps up in trip before the end of the season.
Cork, 27^th September 2022