Izzi Top lands Barclays Bank Ireland Pretty Polly Stakes at Curragh
John Gosden’s 4-year-old speedy filly, Izzi Top, made the best use of the testing conditions at Curragh and sealed a comprehensive win in the Barclays Bank Ireland Pretty Polly Stakes on Sunday, July 1st. Since the surface was too soft, many trainers
decided not to send their runners in the Group 1 event.
As a result, Pivotal’s daughter ended up with only three rivals to beat. The dashing filly did not face any difficult in winning at the highest level for the first time, as she crushed the opposition quite convincingly.
Sapphire was the only major threat to Izzi Top, especially after Maybe’s exclusion at the eleventh hour. In the hands of William Buick, the John Gosden-trained kept doing the good work all the way through.
She was at the second position early on, tracking the leader in a great style. Her hard work paid off, as she established her dominance a furlong before the winning post.
After getting a decent advantage, she kept on well, defeating Sapphire by one and a quarter lengths. Izzi Top was a delight to watch in the final moments, as she bagged the winning prize of £95,000 comfortably.
Sapphire was second whereas the third position went to I'm A Dreamer. Trained by D. K. Weld, the runner-up broke well to lead, but lost her advantage in the middle stages of the race. A. P. O'Brien’s charge, Up, completed the order of finish because of a
not-so-impressive start.
On his charge’s wonderful success, Gosden stated: "It's great to win this race because Pretty Polly was trained where I train now (Clarehaven Stables, Newmarket). She was a champion race-mare and won over a range of distances."
"William said she didn't like the ground, but not many like it that soft. A mile and a quarter is her trip and she tends to pull herself up when she hits the front - she got a bit idle there in the last furlong. We'll look at races like the Nassau Stakes
at Goodwood and the Prix de l'Opera in France. We may think about the Breeders' Cup, too," he said on Izzi Top’s future plans.
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