The John Gosden trained Izzi Top eyes the prize in the Barclays Bank Ireland Pretty Polly Stakes
Izzi Top’s brilliant form shows that she could be the one to notch victory in the Group 1 Barclays Bank Ireland Pretty Polly Stakes (Fillies & Mares) on 1st
July, 2012, when she takes on the 1 mile and 2 furlong track at the Curragh.
The bay filly has been performing brilliantly, and because of her sheer skill, she has been adding consecutive victories to her record. Now, the four-year-old is gearing up to claim another victory in this mega-event.
The daughter of Pivotal, out of mare Zee Zee Top, has four victories in eight starts, and among those four victories, three of them are in the Group category.
The trainer appreciated the runner’s performances, and form this season, but he is slightly concerned about the consistency of the ground, which was been labelled soft.
"She's been in good form since York but I'd rather the ground was not as soft as it's going to be, and I presume that's the case with most. We wouldn't want to see any more rain."
Referring to the line-up of seven runners, the trainer stated:
"They are calling it soft to heavy and that's not ideal, but this race has been her aim for some time now. It looks a nice race, we've got the Oaks winner there, but it's a small field.”
The Helena Springfield Ltd owned filly landed an impressive victory in the Group 2 Betfred Middleton Stakes at York, where she justified her status as a favourite, and landed the victory over Saeed Bin Suroor’s charge, Sajjhaa, by 1 ½ lengths over
the course of 1 mile and 2 ½ furlongs.
The ground was labelled good in that race, and the filly handled it well, which is why the trainer is a bit skeptical about the soft track at the Curragh.
Aside from ground concerns, Gosden said that the Meon Valley Stud bred filly has been showing remarkable improvement, this was confirmed by the trainer when he stated:
"She's done nothing wrong, she's progressing but she hasn't surprised me in the slightest. I don't think she quite stayed in the Oaks last year."
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