Halford and Ballydoyle clash with four runners each in Listed feature

8.00 Dundalk
Irish Stallion Farms EBF Cooley Fillies & Mares Stakes (Listed) | 1m | 3yo+ | ATR

Dundalk has long been a happy hunting ground for Michael Halford and he runs four – Petticoat, Surrounding, Terzetto and Vivianite – in Friday's mile feature.

Halford, who landed a four-timer at the track a fortnight ago, said: "There isn't much between our four on ratings and it's hard to split them. We're using a tongue-tie on Petticoat as she cut out in her last few races. She got some black type last year and we're hoping for more.

"Terzetto is blinkered for the first time. We worked her at Dundalk last week and Niall McCullagh thought she was a bit lazy. She had been very consistent until running moderately at the Curragh last time and we're hoping she'll run back to form.

"Surrounding loves Dundalk and did very well to win a handicap under a big weight there last time, while Vivianite ran her best race of the year at Naas on Sunday when she just missed out on getting black type."

Could It Be Love, one of four Aidan O'Brien runners, landed her maiden over the course early in the season but has not won again despite finishing second to Alpha Centauri in the Irish 1,000 Guineas.

She showed encouraging signs on her most recent start when third in a similar event to this at Naas on Sunday and O'Brien said: "She ran a good race at Naas and, while we're running her back quite soon, she seems in good form.

"Snowflakes, Dramatically and Most Gifted are all on a black-type mission."

Snowflakes, a sister of four-time Group 1 winner Winter, ran disappointingly at Naas on Sunday having won a maiden at Cork on her previous start.

Joseph O'Brien is represented by Dramatise, a 50-1 shot when scoring on her debut at Fairyhouse last month, and Damselfly, who finished second in the Naas Listed race where Could It Be Love was second.

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