A
full field of 16 will line up in the €120,000 Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series
Final at Naas on Sunday after this morning’s declarations stage, including a
first British runner in the race with Apple Anni set to represent Mick Channon.
Among
the leading fancies will be Dermot Weld’s Yulong Gold Fairy, who won a race in
the series at the Galway Festival in the familiar Zhang Yuesheng silks and will
be reopposed by Quizical and Captain Vancouver who followed her home that day.
Quizical will be representing Sheila Lavery who won the inaugural running of
the Auction Final in 2015 with Sevenleft.
Chris
Hayes, who won the race last year on board Kevin Prendergast’s Trevanna, teams
with the trainer’s nephew Patrick this time around to ride Red Persian, who
followed home one of Europe’s top juveniles in Beckford in a series qualifier
at the Curragh in May before winning the Leopardstown leg.
Tom
Mullins’ Powerville, already a winner of two legs of the series, bids for a
third success, while other winners of previous races in the series who will bid
for the first prize of €72,000 include Johnny Murtagh’s Beach Wedding, Noel
Meade’s Cocohulababy, Tom Cooper’s Lisard Lady and Tracey Collins’ Sollertia.
Andrew
Slattery’s Spiorad Saoirse is another Galway Festival winner, while Ball Girl,
one of two from the Ger Lyons yard who was third in a Group 3 at the Curragh,
and Michael Grassick’s Verhoyen, runner-up in a Listed race at Naas in May, are
others who bring a good competitive level of form to the table.
Ger Lyons, Trainer of
Ball Girl and Burmese Blazer: “We
run two on Sunday and hopefully one will collect some of the big prize. Ball
Girl is in with a good chance and it would be a great end to the season for her
to finish in the money. The Foran Equine Irish EBF Auction Series is a great
addition to our yards targets and hopefully we will have more firepower for
next year’s series.”
John O’Connor,
Chairman, Irish EBF: “Sunday’s €120,000 final marks the third year of the auction series,
significantly this year, the series was boosted by joining forces with Foran
Equine. Their involvement enabled the series to grow and become an important
element of the Irish juvenile racing programme. The Irish EBF trustees want the
series to continue to flourish and we urge all purchasers of yearlings for
€72,000 and under and who are EBF eligible to target the series in 2018.”
Gareth Connolly, Sales and Marketing Director, Foran Equine: “Sunday’s final is shaping-up to be a
fantastic contest, with a €120,000 at stake it’s no surprise that a full field
has been declared. It is particularly satisfying that the 16 declared runners
where purchased for between €2,500 and €48,000, with an average auction price
of just over €14,000. We’re very grateful to everyone who has supported the
series and especially the Irish European
Breeders’ Fund for working so closely with our team to promote and develop our
partnership.”