Sunday Irish Racing Tips: Licence to print money

The start of the Irish turf flat season continues at Naas on Sunday, where the highlight is the Listed Plusvital Devoy Stakes at 16:25 which features the exciting once-raced colt Licence taking on some battle-hardened performers.

Ger Lyons' son of Frankel could hardly have been more impressive when making a winning debut at Gowran last June, clearing right away from a subsequent winner in the final furlong.

The form of those in behind the front pair is certainly nothing to write home about, but the visual impression Licence created there was one of a horse who would be well capable of holding his own in much better class races.

Licence has clearly not been the easiest to train, the fact he only made his debut as a 3-y-o last summer and hasn't been seen since suggests as much, but he's clearly held in very high regard by connections (holds an entry in the Group 1 Tattersalls Gold Cup in May).

In terms of a stepping stone to the top level, this looks an ideal starting point for one who is lacking experience compared to the majority of his rivals, and he'll certainly need to be taking this if he's to justify that lofty entry at the Curragh later this spring.

As for the opposition, Patrick Sarsfield sets the standard, though he proved disappointing in the latter half of last season after a pair of solid runner-up efforts at the Curragh and Royal Ascot in June.

There are others in here who bring solid form to the table, though my eye was drawn to an unexposed performer in Aidan O'Brien's Cleveland, who missed the whole of last season after winning a Curragh maiden in late-2020.

It's obviously significant that his high-profile connections are persevering with this one, and he's another who holds a Tattersalls Gold Cup entry.

Despite having an absence of 500+ days to overcome, he's clearly one to take seriously, though I'm hoping that the latent talent of Licence will shine through and am taking him to provide Irish champion jockey Colin Keane with a winner on just the second day of the new season.

West Coast a potential Group horse in a handicap

The Madrid Premier Handicap at 15:50 features a few 3-y-os who could ultimately go on to be better than handicappers, none more so than Aidan O'Brien's filly West Coast, who's bred to be a Group-class performer and is currently an outsider in the 1000 Guineas betting.

A half-sister to Group 2 winner Just Wonderful, this daughter of Dark Angel got off the mark at the third time of asking in a Leopardstown maiden in October and has plenty of scope for progression.

The form of that race hasn't been fully tested as yet but it's worth noting that the fourth-placed finisher Eternal Gold is now trained in France and won a handicap at Chantilly earlier this month.

As with our first selection, West Coast is clearly held in some regard by connections, and she holds a raft of entries in top-level races over the next few months, including both the English and Irish 1000 Guineas.

It's always difficult at this time of year to work which stables will have their charges well forward, but if last year's early-season results are anything to go by, Aidan O'Brien should have his squad fit and firing.

In March and April last year, the master of Ballydoyle had a phenomenal strike-rate of 54%, well in excess of his normal year-round levels. His five-year strike-rate at this time of year stands up to close scrutiny, too, though clearly not at the sort of levels he was hitting early last term.

Another in the line-up who could prove better than a handicapper in time is Markaz Paname, who won a Cork maiden on debut before going on to finish third in Listed company at Dundalk in October.

He's been gelded since that run and is clearly open to plenty of improvement, though he's a speedily bred type and the suspicion is he may prove best as a sprinter going forward. This 7f trip could well be as far as he wants to go with that in mind.

Tuesday could be Sunday star

Although I'm not putting her up as a selection, keep a close eye on Tuesday in the 1m maiden at 17:00, another promising Ballydoyle-trained filly.

Bred in the purple, Tuesday shaped very well when runner-up on her sole start in a Curragh maiden last June, beating all bar subsequent Group 1 winner Discoveries, who just took her measure by a short head.

It doesn't take a genius to work out that this filly could well be a high-class performer in the making and it will be something of a disappointment if she can't get the job done with that initial experience under her belt.

With entries in both the English and Irish 1000 Guineas, as well as the Irish Oaks, It's not hard to envisage Tuesday taking this contest on the way to contesting one of the Classic trials in a few weeks' time.