Rose De Pierre steps up in class

Rose De Pierre puts her unbeaten record on the line in the Platinum Stakes at Cork today.

Dermot Weld 's stoutly-bred filly justified cramped odds when she made a winning introduction at the Curragh in May and followed up on her handicap debut on Irish Oaks weekend.

She steps up to Listed class for her hat-trick bid and faces plenty of talented opponents, including the highly-rated Sruthan

Fiona Craig, breeding advisor to the owners Moyglare Stud Farm, said: "It looks like they got a bit of rain in Cork overnight and the plan is to run.

"I don't think she'd want extremes of ground, just like her mother (Profound Beauty), but hopefully conditions will be A1.

"We were quite keen to step up to a mile and a quarter in the Blandford Stakes, but Pat (Smullen) is adamant we should stick to a mile for the time being as she has too much pace, which isn't a bad thing.

"It's quite a tough race as she's taking on older geldings.

"She basically fell in on her first run and definitely improved from that.

"Hopefully she'll improve again. She's done nothing wrong so far and we can continue onwards and upwards."

Paul Deegan 's Sruthan is the highest-rated runner in the 11-strong field with a mark of 110, although the 103-rated Rose De Pierre does receive just over a stone in weight due to her age and sex allowances.

Other contenders include Jim Bolger's course and distance winner Flight Risk and David Marnane's battle-hardened campaigner Elleval.