Beo plan sunk by showers

Jim Bolger's dream of landing the English,

French and Irish 1,000 Guineas with Finsceal

Beo was thwarted when the filly was caught in

the final strides by Darjina at Longchamp on Sunday.

Showers had made the going

softer than Bolger would have

liked for the 4-11 favourite, who

had won so impressively at Newmarket

seven days earlier.

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She will now run at The Curragh

on May 27 when it is unlikely she

will face her conqueror, who is

likely to run in the French Oaks.

Finsceal Beo shot clear for

jockey Kevin Manning when a gap

opened at the two-furlong marker.

Only in the dying strides did

Christophe Soumillon force

Darjina, owned by Princess Zahra

Aga Khan and trained by Alain de

Royer-Dupre, in front.

Bolger said: ‘Kevin said the

ground affected her speed. She

was two kilos heavier than before

Newmarket so that race can’t

have taken anything out of her. It

is on to The Curragh now where,

hopefully, she’ll get faster ground.’

Jeremy Noseda’s Rahiyah was a

length and a half back in third,

although stablemate Sander

Camillo, also unsuited by the

going, was well beaten.

There was further frustration for

Bolger when his consistent colt

Creachadoir was also caught well

inside the final furlong by Aidan

O’Brien’s 33-1 shot Astronomer

Royal in the French 2,000 Guineas.

Better fancied stablemates Honoured

Guest and Excellent Art

were third and fourth, providing

Ireland with the first four.

Bolger must wish that injured

colt Teofilo was still fit to run in the Derby. One by one, leading

candidates have fallen away.

Racing Post Trophy winner Authorized,

a runner in Thursday’s

Dante Stakes at York, is 3-1

favourite with Ladbrokes. Salford

Mill (7-1) is the only other contender

under 10-1.

Marcus Tregoning’s Aqaleem was

cut from 100-1 to a low of 12-1 after

winning the Lingfield Derby Trial.

Then, at Leopardstown yesterday,

Macarthur, touted by O’Brien in

March as his likely Derby candidate,

faded into third behind stablemates

Archipenko (14-1 for

Epsom) and Yellowstone (20-1) in

the Derrinstown Stud Trial.