Payment bidding to land back-to-back Plate prizes for Bolger

Her Majesty's Plate (Listed) | 1m6f, 3yo+ | ATR

Successful in this race 12 months ago with Stellar Mass, Jim Bolger will be bidding for back-to-back victories in Friday's feature at Down Royal with the Godolphin-owned Twilight Payment.

Runner-up behind Order Of St George in the Saval Beg Stakes at Leopardstown in May, Twilight Payment has yet to run since and Bolger has fitted the four-year-old with cheekpieces for the first time.

Eight of the past 11 winners of this race were three-year-olds, although the Jessica Harrington-trained Grandee is the only horse in the field of eight to represent his generation in this year’s renewal.

A winner of the King George V Cup at Leopardstown on his penultimate start, the Lope De Vega colt has since run last in the Irish Derby when a 33-1 shot, but he has been provided with a good opportunity to bounce back as he receives weight from all his rivals.

Motherland, trained by Joseph O’Brien, is another who disappointed on his last start when not seeing out the 2m5½f of the Queen Alexandra Stakes at Royal Ascot, while the Willie Mullins-trained Laws Of Spin faces a tough task at the weights.

Savannah Storm, My Brother, The Tartan Spartan and last year's runner-up Benkei complete the line-up.

What they say

Harry Rogers, trainer of Benkei
It’s a very good race and we would be happy if he could place in it again. He was second in the race last year but this looks a good renewal. He's in very good form and the horses are all running well.

Willie Mullins, trainer of Laws Of Spin
It’s going to be a difficult task for him because he's wrong at the weights and it’s a race that doesn’t tend to favour the older horses. He's not badly drawn in stall five so that will be a help to him at least.

Jessica Harrington, trainer of Grandee
He’s the only three-year-old in the race and we're getting a lot of weight from our rivals. He's doing very well at home and we're quite happy with him. I just hope the ground is quick for him as he would prefer a nicer surface. Hopefully he can run well.