Barrier trial jewels from Dundalk after Dark Horses lands 66-1 weekend winner

The Irish Thoroughbred Marketing Barrier Trials returned for the second of two events this year at Dundalk on Tuesday.

Two-year-olds dominated with eight of the nine batches confined to that age group, with just one five-runner batch for three-year-olds. At the July trials Joseph O'Brien had 20 of the 62 entries, but on Tuesday he was responsible for nine, so other trainers took up the slack and there seemed to be a larger spread of stables represented. There was some quality on view and hopefully plenty of future winners.

Mere Accountant
Trainer: Johnny Murtagh
2f Dark Angel – Fine Blend (Sakhee's Secret)
Only five went to post for the second of the 6f batches, but despite that it was run in a respectable time and this filly created a nice impression.

She tracked the pace and was given a confident ride by Ben Coen. She picked up nicely in the straight when asked and went on well inside the final furlong despite showing plenty of greenness.