Shartash (far side) beating Blackbeard in the Railway Stakes© Photo Healy Racing
Shartash will have a sprinting campaign this year with connections eyeing up the Commonwealth Cup as the chief target at this stage for the Group 2 winning juvenile.
The Aga Khan’s homebred son of Invincible Spirit touched off Blackbeard in the GAIN Railway Stakes at the Curragh last summer and ran with credit on all three subsequent outings at the highest level including when third to Al Riffa in the National Stakes.
He holds an entry in the Tattersalls Irish 2,000 Guineas but trainer Johnny Murtagh is looking at shorter distances for the colt saying, “Shartash hasn’t grown much but is in good form. He looks like a real sprinter.
“I thought the last day he ran in France he was coming there to win and just ran out of gas. He’s in the Irish Guineas but I think he’s going to be more of a six-furlong horse.
“We will target the Commonwealth Cup and hopefully we will get a run into him at either Cork or Navan before that.
“He’s a fast horse. He got outstayed in the National Stakes and he didn’t get home in France. He has a chance of being really good at six furlongs.”
The Curragh trainer will have a team of about 80 horses for the 2023 campaign and is in positive mood with the turf season only just around the corner.
“The horses seem health and forward but lots of people will have their horses forward as it has been a great winter.
“Our two year-olds are a little bit behind. We have got a few more from his His Highness the Aga Khan this year.
“We have about 30 two-year-olds and we will have about 80 to 85 horses to go to war with this year. You probably need that many in Ireland to be competitive.”
