Sunday Irish Racing Tips: Gear Up for some winners

As we head into Royal Ascot week, the racing in Ireland on Sunday is understandably low key, though there are competitive fields on the flat at Gowran Park and over jumps at Downpatrick.

Probably the most interesting horse running on either of those two cards is the lightly raced Ezine, who broke her duck at the second attempt in maiden company at Naas last month and looks to be on a very workable opening mark in the 7f fillies handicap at 14:30.

A daughter of Showcasing, Dermot Weld's filly is bred to much better than a handicapper, being related to the likes of Group 3 winner Sangarius and a few other winners.

While it's probably not wise to take her debut second to Oaks winner Tuesday at face value, Ezine should prove very tough to beat in this sort of company and is still open to improvement.

She didn't do a lot wrong when getting off the mark in battling fashion last time, and it's a good sign that her yard had a winner just the other day after a bit of a spell in the doldrums.

A couple of those that made the frame in that contest have run well since too, so the form has a solid look to it, and if there's a filly in this field who could prove well ahead of the handicapper in here it's Ezine.

Former Group 1 winner to get back on track

The final race of the day, an extended 1m 1f minor contest at 17:25, provides an intriguing clash between Gear Up and Leo De Fury, who've both been plying their trade at Group level of late.

Leo De Fury is a solid operator at this sort of trip up to around 1m 6f nowadays and he's run solid-enough races in defeat behind the likes of Kyprios and Layfayette on his two starts so far this season.

However, there's not a great deal between him and Gear Up on form - in fact, the official handicapper can't split them as they both have marks of 104, so the 5lb that Leo De Fury has to concede to Gear Up could prove crucial.

Gear Up has also been beaten a couple of times this season by the upwardly mobile Layfayette, in the process finishing ahead of Leo De Fury in one of those contests.

He kept some top company when trained by Mark Johnston last season, beaten by the likes of Adayar, Alenquer, Hurricane Lan and Yibir on his four starts.

Now with Joseph O'Brien, it's probably fair to say his first couple of outings for his current yard were a bit of a fact-finding mission, and this race looks a good opportunity for him to record a first win since his juvenile days.

That juvenile campaign saw him win three times from just four starts, rounding off his season with victory in the Group 1 Criterium de Saint-Cloud. If he's Gear Up is back to anywhere near that sort of form he'll take plenty of stopping, rating the best bet of the day for me.

Unexposed Queen Jane to follow up

The feature race on Downpatrick's card is the extended 2m 2f handicap hurdle at 14:55, where I'm keen on the chances of Henry De Bromhead's Queen Jane.

This daughter of Mahler started her career with a distant third to Ha D'or in a maiden hurdle at Fairyhouse in January before reverting to a bumper on her next start, where she finished fifth at Tramore in April.

She then took a big step forward in winning a maiden hurdle over this C&D just over three weeks ago, travelling noticeably well before coming home 4 lengths clear of Will You Win.

Boasting a similar profile to our first selection Ezine, albeit in a different discipline, Queen Jane is bred to be a useful jumper at the very least and it will be a big disappointment to me of she doesn't prove considerably better than an opening mark of 105 in time.

It's also interesting that she holds another entry at Wexford next week, connections clearly plotting to turn her out quickly under a penalty should she prove successful in this contest.