Chris Hayes excited to be reunited with promising Mehnah for Listed feature

5.55 Killarney
Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cairn Rouge Stakes (Listed) | 1m | 3yo+ fillies & mares | RTV

Mehnah missed the Irish 1,000 Guineas with a tweaked muscle but Chris Hayes reports her to be ready for her reappearance and she is unquestionably the most exciting filly in this hotly contested Listed race.

Mehnah's form certainly stacks up. The Frankel filly hit a high of 79-1 in running on her debut at Dundalk but came from an unpromising position to beat the now 104-rated Fantasy Lady, who finished fifth in the Irish 1,000 Guineas. The third home won next time and is now rated 92, while seventh was Friendly who runs here and is rated 101.

Since that hugely promising debut success, the Kevin Prendergast-trained Mehnah has only appeared once but she enhanced her reputation with a fast-finishing second in the 1,000 Guineas Trial at Leopardstown.

She had subsequent Classic winners Joan Of Arc and Empress Josephine in behind her there so everything points to her being well above average.

The problem here is stall 16. The last seven winners of the race have been drawn 5, 2, 6, 2, 3, 6 and 4 so Hayes will have to decide whether to force her into a prominent position from the outset or sit out the back and let her do her best work late like she has done on both starts so far.

There are three fillies with three-figure ratings in opposition, and the 101-rated pair of Flirting Bridge and Friendly set a decent level of form, but if Mehnah is back to the form of her Leopardstown effort in April she should be very hard to beat.

Of the others, perhaps Emaniya should not be completely written off. She was a stylish winner of a decent Cork maiden at two and things have not gone to plan since. She has been given time to develop since her Naas flop in May and she could be the one to outrun her odds. She lacks the class of Mehnah, though.

What they say

Aidan O'Brien, trainer of Friendly and Queen's Speech
It was good to see Friendly get her head in front at Bellewstown. She had been running well in good races so it was nice to see her avail that opportunity. She seems to be progressing nicely and we're happy with her. Queen's Speech was a little bit disappointing last time in a Group 3 but she won her maiden well and she's a nice filly.

Chris Hayes, rider of Mehnah
I'm really looking forward to it. She's been training well and it was just unfortunate what happened to her earlier in the season. She's fit enough and well enough to do herself justice here and it looks a nice place for her to start back. The draw could have been kinder to her but it is what is it and there's nothing we can do about that now.

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Neptune Rock, Sense Of Style and Thinking Of You
Neptune Rock ran very well at Limerick but I'd be a little bit worried if the ground went soft for her. Thinking Of You is in good shape. She will like the track and on the best of her form she would have an each-way chance. Sense Of Style has a good draw and she's in good form.

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