Oxx maiden winner to step up to Stakes level

The John Oxx trained Blue Paraiba (11/8f) justified strong market confidence to win the Your Clubs Fundraiser At Fairyhouse, Enquire Today Fillies Maiden at Fairyhouse today, in the colours of Sunderland Holding Inc, the Tsui family's, of Sea The Stars fame, breeding operation.

Ridden by Declan McDonogh, the daughter of Sea The Stars was slowly away but was soon racing with the leaders, eventually moved to the front on the outer inside the final furlong, for a comfortable length win over Duchessofflorence

Blue Paraiba, who holds entries at Group 1 (Pretty Polly Stakes), 2 and 3 level in June, was later reported by Oxx to be "still seems quite green. I thought she had learned a lot in Navan but she doesn't seem to have or at least whatever she did she has forgotten it in the last two weeks!

"It has dried a lot today and the jockeys are saying it's fast enough. She bends her knee a little and that is just quick enough.

"She was quite green and rolling around and that should bring her on. She'll step up to a mile-and-a-quarter and hopefully she'll improve. She has a good pedigree.

"That race should have taught her a bit more and we'll try out hand in a Listed race at some stage. She needs to improve a bit but hopefully it's there.

"She has some fancy entries but they were speculative - you enter them early hoping they will improve."

By Tom Weekes, quotes from Gary Carson