First Irish win on the cards for Donovan's durable type

Menelik
5.30 Dundalk
2pts win

Platinum Warrior
6.30 Dundalk
2pts win

Massa Lubrense
8.00 Dundalk
1pt win

can record a first Irish success in the opening 5f claimer at Dundalk.

The eight-year-old, who started life with Tom Dascombe for whom he won three races at 7f, also scored over 1m2f during a spell with Epsom trainer Lee Carter.

Around three years ago he joined Des Donovan at Newmarket and seemed to lose his way. A long lean spell followed before he began to recover his form last winter, with a switch to sprint distances doing the trick.

By now Donovan had relocated to Tipperary, and Menelik won three times on trips to Britain last winter, scoring twice over 6f at Chelmsford before landing a 5f contest at Lingfield on his first attempt at the minimum trip.

Lightly raced in the summer, he has been near peak form on his last two outings, weakening into fifth in a handicap over the course and trip in September and finishing third over 5f at Chelmsford last week.

With Pat Smullen aboard, the Oasis Dream gelding has plenty going for him. He is marginally better suited by the race conditions than either Pat Martin’s recent mile course winner Reckless Lad or Rivellino, whose Laytown success in September was obtained at 7f.

Those two have double-figure draws to overcome, while Menelik is drawn one.

Found to be lame after going close on his first run on the Polytrack, and only second in all, Platinum Warrior is a confident choice to go one better for Pat Smullen and the venue’s leading trainer Michael Halford in this mile maiden.

Maynooth trainer John Geoghegan seems to have found a good opportunity for Massa Lubrense in this 7f maiden.

The gelded son of Intense Focus ran only twice at two, performing beyond expectations when third on the Polytrack in December. His reappearance was delayed until September when he finished a respectable sixth in a 17-runner maiden over 6f at Fairyhouse.

He was dropped to 6f at the same venue last month and seemed to find the trip just a little too short in failing to match the Willie McCreery-trained filly Thiswaycadeaux.

The ground was heavy, but last year’s good run on the surface is reassuring for his prospects in a race in which Peace Officer and 68-rated filly Curly Girl are the pick of the opposition.

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