Irish One Thousand Guineas attracts 16 fillies

Just the Judge will face 15 rivals in Sunday's Irish One Thousand Guineas at

The Curragh as she bids to regain the winning thread. Beaten a half-length by

Sky Lantern when runner-up at Newmarket May 5 in the One Thousand Guineas, the

Charlie Hills trainee carries stable confidence as she looks to provide her

conditioner with a first classic success.

"We'd have to be pretty optimistic, as she's come out of the race well and

she ran her heart out there doing it the hard way," commented the son of the

famed Barry Hills, who carried off this prize in 1993 and 1999. "She has the

advantage of having had that run and this is more of a galloping track which

will suit her. That is what attracted us to this race.

"She's fit and well, it's a classic and there is no point in bypassing it.

We're drawn two, so we're on the rail. We'll just jump her out, we don't want to

be trapped two deep on that rail so I imagine we'd go slightly forward."

Sixth in that Newmarket classic was Fred Darling winner Maureen, and the

stable companion of Sky Lantern was proving that she stays this trip with a

strong finishing effort there.

"We weren't sure going into Newmarket whether she would stay the mile, but

she finished the race off better than anything," Richard Hannon Jr. said. "We

can be a little bit handier and, though she has a few lengths to find with Just

the Judge, we think that she has a good each-way chance."

There were no surprises at Friday's declaration stage, with One Thousand

Guineas fifth Snow Queen set to sport a visor for the first time as she heads a

trio from Ballydoyle.

Of Aidan O'Brien's trio, Just Pretending could be one with the most to offer

having made rapid progress in a hood, and she showed when winning the

Derrinstown Stud One Thousand Guineas Trial at Leopardstown last time May 12

that she possesses the fight for this type of race.

Trainer Dermot Weld knows what it takes to win the Irish One Thousand

Guineas, and the master of Rosewell House has been making some encouraging

noises about Big Break ahead of the latest edition of the Curragh classic.

Successful four times since 1982, the veteran of the Irish training scene has

been patient with Khalid Abdullah's full sister to the voracious pattern-race

scorer Famous Name and kept her away from the earlier demands of the Newmarket

or Longchamp equivalents.

While she would prefer a better draw than the outside post she has received

and the testing ground on which she emerged center stage in Leopardstown's

Killavullan over seven furlongs in October, the homebred has the class to adapt.

"It's probably too firm for her, but I'd be more concerned with the draw,"

Weld commented. "She's a good filly and is very well, so we just hope she gives

a good account of herself."

Another who would prefer the soft ground so often prevalent in this country

is the May 6 Athasi scorer Viztoria, who had Ballydoyle's Snow Queen 7 1/2

lengths in arrears in the Blenheim over six furlongs here in September.

Trainer Eddie Lynam told PA Sport, "She's unbeaten here in Ireland and the

only time she has been beaten was in France (in the Criterium de

Maisons-Laffitte). She's in very good form and everything has gone according to

plan. Obviously it will be a very tough race and we've got that very good filly

from England, Charlie Hills' Just the Judge. She has got a very good chance and

looks the one we all have to beat."

Trainer John Oxx relies on a pair of smart fillies in Harasiya and What

Style, but the former who sports the silks of the Aga Khan needs easier ground

than she is likely to get here. It was soft when she won the Silver Flash over

seven furlongs at Leopardstown in July, while What Style will prefer these

conditions to the testing ones she encountered when second in the April 14

Leopardstown One Thousand Guineas Trial on only her second start.

"Harasiya is a good filly, but may have a preference for softer ground," Oxx

told PA Sport. "She has been a little slow to come to hand, but is pretty ready

and we'll have to see how she goes on what we hope will be good ground.

"What Style ran very well in second in the Guineas Trial at Leopardstown,

when I didn't think she'd like the soft ground. This is a big step up again for

her and she has a bit to find, but fast ground should suit her. Both her and

Harasiya should enjoy a step up to a longer distance in due course."

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