THE Firville Stakes at Cork last Friday was a new addition to the pattern, and if year one is anything to go by, it will prove worthwhile.

It was one of two seven-furlong listed races on the card, but they were run in contrasting styles, the leader in this juvenile race getting to the three-furlong pole 2.28 seconds ahead of the front-runner in the following race for older horses.

That meant the emphasis was on stamina and the winner Alwaysanangel raced in the right place towards the rear of the field but even so she was impressive. She brought the best form into the race having finished a close third in the Duchess of Cambridge Stakes at the July Meeting, that run just nine days on from a winning debut and looked very comfortable at this trip having had her two previous runs over shorter. She doesn’t have a Moyglare Stud Stakes entry but is in both the Rockfel and Cheveley Park next month.

Madam Secretary was the runner-up and travelled well, perhaps paying for racing closer to the strong pace than the winner, but the temperament she hinted at in Galway was confirmed here as she held her head awkwardly and hung right.

Maire Rua was a well-backed favourite but was one of a couple to get hampered at the stalls, meeting further interference late in the race too. She did not seem to know her job within the race, however, which is unusual for a Ger Lyons runner historically but perhaps not this season.

Lyons trend

Lyons maintained a strong first-time-out record with juveniles between 2020 and 2025, 41 debut winners for a strike-rate of 18.2%, but Maire Rua is his only such winner from 15 runners in 2026, his place strike-rate down too. They seem to be needing the experience more than in the past.

The fourth Damsel In Distress was another to get hampered at the start and she looked in need of a stiffer test even with the pace, something her trainer Danny McLoughlin remarked on beforehand.

The Platinum Stakes was a messy race, less than four lengths covering the first nine home after the race developed into a late sprint. The winner Suzie Songs had looked in danger of going the wrong way after a promising start, inclined to race too keenly, but connections have done well with her.

She was still keen here but nothing like as bad as in races like the Debutante and Moyglare last season, while the runner-up Spinning Around was a little unlucky having raced in rear and had to wait for a run.

None finished better and she had a bit more to given, though her mark will suffer for this.

Give Thanks assessment

It looked as if the Group 3 Give Thanks Stakes would be tight beforehand, six fillies rated between 98 and 103, and so it proved with less than three lengths covering those six runners. The pace here was stop-start, the early gallop strong before mid-race lull and a fast finish, which may not have suited the winner, Believed, who looked a strong stayer.

She raced towards the rear and took time to get going before a strong late rally, seemingly more at home at this galloping track than at Gowran Park last time, shaping as if she would get further. One-time Oaks favourite Amelia Earhart ran her race in second, without suggesting there was much more to come, while Caught U Sleeping completed a clean sweep for the three-year-olds in third, also shaping as if she would have preferred more of a test.

Of the older fillies, the fourth Snapretend ran well off an 83-day absence, perhaps making her move sooner than ideal. This should set her up for autumn as she is proven on slower ground while the well-fancied Bosphorus Rose was a disappointment.

She travelled best and looked the likely winner two furlongs from home but faded late out of the frame late.

Earlier on the card, Ocean Surge looked one that is gradually improving with racing, the five-furlong trip looking too sharp while she was also returning from a break, while Emily Estherfaye outran her odds of 200/1 when fifth to Garden Party and would have finished closer if getting a clear run.

THE feature race at the Curragh last Sunday was low-key, A Boy Named Susie won the Royal Whip Stakes as expected at a short price, but there were several eye-catchers in the lower grade races that could pay their way in the near term.

Celestial Crown finished last of eight in the opening six-furlong nursery but was a lot better than that. Drawn highest of all, she travelled well behind the winner up the near rail but had nowhere to go, baulked about a furlong and a half from home and forced to the back of the field where she again met trouble, her rider soon accepting defeat.

The first run of her career, when she was beaten a short head by the now 108-rated Velozee, reads well while Johnny Murtagh has been one of the best around in nurseries in recent years, second only to Joseph O’Brien in juvenile handicap winners since 2020.

The median sires maiden was notable for the gamble landed on Fighting Tears, backed from 18/1 to 11/2 on the show having been 50/1 earlier in the day. The Andy Oliver yard had gone close to landing a similar touch back at the same track in June with Aestus Astevias, that one just run out of the places late.

Tavernise, a newcomer for Ross O’Sullivan, just missed out on the frame here but shaped well. Having raced in rear, the Earthlight filly made a big mid-race move to press the pace, all this coming while racing alone up the far rail away from the action. She flattened out late, but that was understandable given how the race went.

Juvenile eye-catchers

There are not many races over nine furlongs at the Curragh each year, but they typically favour front-runners, the bend coming up soon after the stalls. The first three in the juvenile maiden were all close to the pace but a couple in behind did well to close them down late.

Albany County raced in mid-division and made up a lot of ground late to finish fourth.

He looks well up to winning a maiden while the seventh Tommy Quick had more to give. He travelled nicely in rear amidst greenness, but the penny was dropping late before he ran into traffic up the rail.

Though he was sent off 50/1, he has a Group 2 entry so presumably has been showing something at home.

The 10-furlong handicap was another race where the pace held up, and the fourth Admiral Will Brown deserved to finish closer. He broke well but Wesley Joyce opted to take him back and he went from having a good position to a bad one quickly.

Held up in last and a little detached turning in, his mount made good headway up the centre of the track despite having nothing to bring him into the race. He is bang in form, and this trip looks ideal for him.