Iva Batt one to note in Navan sprint Apart from the big race of the day at Haydock, there’s plenty of sprinting action on the home front as well with three races over the minimum distance at Navan. The Troytown Bar Handicap is a competitive affair at 2.25 pm with Arnhem, trained in County Down by Natalia Lupini, heading the market this morning after a number of good efforts in defeat this summer. At a bigger price, fellow Northern contender Iva Batt is not one to discount with Declan McDonogh on board for the first time. The Ivawood filly was bred, and is part-owned, by former trainer John Nicholson. He now travels horses for Killylea, County Armagh, handler Keith Watson who has the 3-year-old in his care. Iva Batt won twice earlier in the season and connections are hopeful of a big run today over what is considered to be her optimum distance. Having won a six furlong maiden at Dundalk on her reappearance in April, Iva Batt didn’t quite get home over the ‘short six’ when fourth at Proudstown Park a week later. She then had several subsequent winners behind when scoring over five furlongs at Cork the following month and has been fairly lightly-raced since. Marshall Watson, assistant to his father, said: “She was undercooked the last day (finished seventh at Naas), but we are not going to run her over six furlongs again. "She is a five-furlong filly all day long. She is in cracking form and will appreciate the drop back to five furlongs. "She had a mid-season break so she is fresh for the back end of the season." Additional reporting by Michael Graham
