The Irish Derby meeting continues on Sunday at the Curragh Racecourse, where three-year-old and older fillies and mares meet up in the G1 Pretty Polly Stakes. Dreamloper and Le Petite Coco headline the competitive field of nine talented contestants, while the other Graded race of the day, the G2 Airlie Stud Stakes, could mean another victory for exciting two-year-old Statuette.
Airlie Stud Stakes
Earlier known as the Balanchine Stakes, this G2 turf race welcomes a field of seven two-year-old fillies. With the purse of €72,800 up for grabs, Statuette is the preferred participant to cover the distance of six furlongs victoriously.
The Aidan O’Brien bound chestnut has only one outing under her belt as she scored her maiden in May by three lengths over Olivia Maralda. Back then, the big filly travelled in the midfield to show off a beautiful turn of foot in the closing stages while already looking like a quite mature two-year-old.
Her trainer has an outstanding record in this race, which, combined with her debut performance, makes Statuette a clear leading chance here; moreover, the filly draws lots of attention thanks to her pedigree. She is the daughter of Justify, who earned the American Triple Crown, and mare Immortal Verse, who foaled a G1 victress Tenebrism.
Zarinks is perceived as the most serious threat to the favorite; however, she bettered Olivia Maralda on her debut just by a neck. In May, the Ger Lyons bound bay was prominent over the distance of six furlongs, and as she scored from the front, she’s expected to set the pace also on Sunday. The daughter of Kodiac should be ready to take on Statuette, but any other contestant of the Airlie Stud Stakes could cause an upset if striking gold, maybe with a slight exception of Camhra.
The Jim Bolger trained bay filly delivered an impressive victory in her second start, and subsequently, she ran in second behind Meditate in the G3 Fillies Sprint Stakes in Naas.
A maiden winner Matilda Picotte is a decent place candidate in this field; still, It’s Showtime Baby has delivered a good run at the G3 scene, and therefore, she shouldn’t be entirely discarded as well. She doesn’t look primed to win this, but third place in the mentioned race with Meditate was alright. Papilio then scored her maiden in a field of 18 two-year-olds, while Badb broke her maiden at the third attempt in June.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| Statuette | Ryan Moore | +160 |
| Zarinsk | Colin Keane | +550 |
| Matilda Picotte | Declan McDonogh | +600 |
| Papilio | Jamie Spencer | +700 |
| Comhra | Keving Manning | +800 |
| It’s Showtime Baby | Shane Foley | +1000 |
| Badb | Gavin Ryan | +1600 |
Airlie Stud Stakes Betting Pick
is Statuette, who looked really good in her debut, and because Aidan O’Brien has such a great record in this race, the daughter of Justify could bag another win here.
Pretty Polly Stakes
Nine three-year-old and older fillies and mares will clash in this G1 turf race held at the distance of a mile and a quarter. The purse of €250,000 lured in a rather interesting field of contestants, including Dreamloper, trained by Ed Walker.
The five-year-old mare crept among the elite in 2021 from handicap races as she bagged a G3 victory in July, upon which she didn’t exactly shine at the Graded stage; however, she concluded the season with a decent third place in the G1 Sun Chariot Stakes. Back then, she was left behind only by brilliant Saffron Beach and already retired Mother Earth, while in 2022, Dreamloper is unbeaten in two outings.
At first, she fought bravely to win the G2 Dahlia Stakes in Newmarket, and as soon as her team sent their star to France to compete with males in the G1 Prix d’Ispahan, the bay mare showed her strength. Thanks to her powerful finish, Dreamloper recorded her premiere G1 victory by two lengths.
Even though she’s about to hit the distance of a mile and a quarter for the first time, the additional half of a furlong shouldn’t mean much to her. She’s progressive, gutsy, and ready to add another big success to her record.
Still, the current favorite is somebody else – Le Petite Coco, trained by Paddy Twomey. The four-year-old filly showed her talent in the first part of the 2021 season by easily winning a maiden and then securing second place at the Listed level, upon which she continued her progress steadily.
After bagging a win at a smaller track, Le Petite Coco destroyed a competition in the G3 Give Thanks Stakes at Cork and concluded the season with a tight victory at the G2 stage. In September, the daughter of Ruler of the World triumphed in the Blandford Stakes over such fillies as Love and Thundering Nights, which simply needs to be considered on Sunday.
Le Petite Coco will, indeed, make her seasonal debut in the Pretty Polly Stakes, however, she’s been a G1 victress in the making for some time. Moreover, she’s capable of running a big race at every distance and ground. She just doesn’t care and always tries hard.
However, the rest of the field also looks quite good as Aidan O’Brien has prepared several brilliant fillies to score the race, while Concert Hall should at least snatch up a good place. The three-year-old daughter of Dubawi won her seasonal debut over talented Magical Lagoon and then finished third in the Irish 1000 Guineas.
Last time out, she took fourth place in the Epsom Oaks despite the fact she looks like a middle-distance filly, and therefore, she should be suited for Sunday’s distance. The William Haggas bound Purpleplay is another fine three-year-old in the race, given she scored a G2 win in June when travelling to Chantilly.
The last to mention is her stable-mate My Astra, who has yet to face a Graded competition, but her May outing at the Ayr Race Course was breathtaking. Over a mile and a quarter distance, the daughter of Lope de Vega triumphed by an abysmal margin of 12 lengths.
| Horse | Jockey | Horse Racing Odds by JazzSports |
| La Petite Coco | W J Lee | +275 |
| Dreamloper | Kieran Shoemaker | +400 |
| Purplepay | Tom Marquand | +550 |
| My Astra | Daniel Tudhope | +500 |
| Concert Hall | Ryan Moore | +600 |
| Rosscarbery | Wayne Lordan | +1200 |
| Tranquil Lady | Dylan Browne McMonagle | +1200 |
| Thunder Kiss | Colin Keane | +1500 |
| Lyrical Poetry | Ben Cohen | +2200 |
Pretty Polly Stakes Betting Prediction
Is Dreamloper, whose performance in France was brilliant, and she could draw on that. Still, the field is so competitive that neither of the mentioned contestants would really cause a big upset when scoring the event.
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