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Harrington, Mullins and O'Brien fire quality bullets at Amateur Riders Derby

Barbados: ran respectably over hurdles last time at Punchestown
Barbados: ran respectably over hurdles last time at PunchestownCredit: Caroline Norris (racingpost.com/photos)

Tuesday: 2.20 Curragh
Paddy Power Amateur Riders Derby | 1m4f | 3yo+ | RTV

Three rivals rated 102 or higher ensure a fair deal of quality at the head of this amateur riders' highlight.

Barbados, whose mark of 106 sets the standard, bumped into a potentially high-class novice hurdler in My Mate Mozzie on his first start over obstacles at Punchestown last time, but is much better known as a talented Flat performer.

Fourth in last season's Irish St Leger and a ready winner at Listowel over a likely off-colour Mt Leinster last month, the Jessica Harrington-trained five-year-old has tried a trip this short only once since his three-year-old days with Aidan O'Brien.

He showed plenty of gears at Listowel but will likely be tested in that department by Raise You, who finished a respectable eighth of 20 in the Balmoral Handicap on British Champions Day ten days ago and has twice won over a mile.

Raise You: talented handicapper bids for second Curragh win of the season
Raise You: talented handicapper bids for second Curragh win of the seasonCredit: Edward Whitaker

In contrast to Harrington's top-rated contender, the Joseph O'Brien-trained five-year-old has never been tried over further than 1m2½f and has been seen only once since July. Barbados will be making his eighth appearance since June.

This isn't a two-horse race by any means, though. Micro Manage has always been held in high regard and was just 11-1 for the Cesarewitch when unable to land a blow in tenth of 32 runners (beaten 29 lengths).

Ridden by Patrick Mullins, who has won this race twice, he won on his return at the Galway festival and should be seen to better effect in these circumstances than last time.

Protagonist has plenty to find on ratings but is probably better than his mark of 90 suggests. He has the assistance of Jamie Codd and cheekpieces for the first time.

Micro Manage goes up to 109 after his Curragh success and has myriad options available
Micro Manage: leading claims of providing Patrick Mullins with a third Amateur Derby winCredit: Caroline Norris

Shoshone Warrior needs to bounce back from a below-par effort in the Irish Cesarewitch but a 7lb pull at the weights with the leading players will help.

What they say

Jessica Harrington, trainer of Barbados and Protagonist
Barbados won well on his last Flat start and looks to have a chance here. Mikey [McGuane, rider] seems to get a good tune out of him. I think this is the right sort of race for Protagonist. He's been waiting all year for soft ground so hopefully he gets that here and runs well.

Patrick Mullins, rider of Micro Manage
It's a race you always love to win and while Micro Manage probably hasn't lived up to what we thought in terms of his early potential, he's won at the Curragh before and ran well at Newmarket last time. He mightn't be best treated at the weights with a couple of horses but I expect him to run well and hopefully go close.

Joseph O'Brien, trainer of Raise You and Shoshone Warrior
The step up in trip is a question mark for Raise You but hopefully he should run well if seeing out the extra distance. It was a big ask for Shoshone Warrior last time but he was solid beforehand and if he came back to his best form he'd have a chance.


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Mark BoylanReporter

Published on 25 October 2021inPreviews

Last updated 18:13, 25 October 2021

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