Monashee Mountain put himself into the Sagitta 2000 guineas picture when retaining his undefeated record as the new Irish flat season started at the Curragh today.
Carrying a 7lb penalty in the Loughbrown Stakes, the son of Danzig was anchored at the back of the six-runner field by Michael Kinane and still had plenty of running to do as Pat Smullen went for home inside the two-furlong pole on Jammaal.
Despite the soft going Monashee Mountain showed plenty of pace when Kinane unleashed him to chase and catch Jammaal in the closing stages of the Listed contest.
"Monashee Mountain has that kind of acceleration you look for in a class horse. Michael was happy that the horse settled so well and he definitely comes into the reckoning for the Newmarket Guineas," said trainer Aidan O'Brien.
Kinane had made a great start to the afternoon with the first two winners, and he rode with all the confidence of a multiple champion as he gave Monashee Mountain the easiest race possible to ensure that he would retain his unbeaten record.
Asked whether he thought the 1-3 favourite would stay a mile, O'Brien remarked: "He has an awful lot of speed, but he wasn't stopping there at the end of seven furlongs in bad ground after coming from a couple of lengths behind."
O'Brien said Monashee Mountain was unlikely to run anywhere before Newmarket, though he did point out that he had more than one Guineas candidate and will await developments in the next couple of weeks before nominating his representative for the Classic.
Ladbrokes cut Monashee Mountain to 10-1 from 12-1, while William Hill make him a 12-1 chance from 16s.
O'Brien and Kinane combined as Modigliani (2-5) also landed the odds in the first two-year-old race of the season, the First Flier European Breeders Fund Maiden.
Kinane showed his nerve and judgement of pace to just let the favourite win as effortlessly as possible, coming past the post half a length in front of the fast-finishing Sure Mark.
"That's bad ground and you could bottom a two-year-old in it so Michael tried to educate him as well as win on Modigliani," O'Brien said.
Kinane cut it much finer in between as 9-1 chance Castanetta arrived fast and late to beat Basin Street Blues by a neck in the Thoroughbred County Irish Lincolnshire.
"I was afraid Castanetta might not get home on the ground, so I asked Michael to wait as long as possible and he did a super job for me," said trainer Jim Gorman.
