'The sky's the limit for her' - excitement surrounds unbeaten filly while world's leading trainer tries to do something he has never done

There is an intriguing statistic attached to the Xin Gin Irish EBF Brownstown Stakes (6.10) at Leopardstown, namely it is a Group race in Ireland that Aidan O'Brien has never won. 

The master trainer himself did not know this when it was put to him, and he is certainly not going gung-ho in his attempt to win it on Thursday as his sole representative is the 92-rated Easy Mover, who has finished eighth of eight and ninth of 11 on her two most recent outings. She looks to have it all to do. 

O'Brien said of Easy Mover: "She's run well at Leopardstown before and we think the track and the trip should suit her well. She's been a bit disappointing, but hopefully she can run well here."

The Brownstown is the longest-established Group race in Ireland that O'Brien has never won, being run for the first time as a Group 3 in 2003. He has never won the Mercury Stakes at Dundalk either, though that has held Group 3 status only since 2018.

The 105-rated Vera's Secret sets the standard at Leopardstown, but perhaps the most interesting contender of all is the unbeaten Duckadilly for young Newbridge-based trainer Daniel McLoughlin. She created quite the impression when winning at Fairyhouse last month and her trainer is dreaming big.

McLoughlin said: "She's in very good shape and seems to be improving all the time at home. We thought that maybe she was finished improving, but it doesn't look like that from her home work. I think the sky's the limit for her and we're going to learn a lot more about her here."

Ger Lyons has been the man to follow in this contest over the last decade as he has won it four times since 2015. Ainippe won it that year, Queen Catrine in 2016, and more recently Marbling (2022) and Zarinsk (2023) have done the business for the trainer. 

This time Lyons relies upon Chantez, who was a very smart juvenile but has yet to scale the heights expected of her this season. 

Dance Night Andday, winner of a big premier handicap at the Irish Champions Festival over this course and distance, also looks a leading player for Ross O'Sullivan. 

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