Yucatan heads four for the Ballyroan Yucatan bids to extend Aidan O'Brien’s excellent recent record in the GRENKE Finance Ballyroan Stakes at Leopardstown on Thursday evening. The Ballydoyle handler has saddled four of the last five winners of the Group Three contest and Yucatan appears the one to beat, despite having to concede weight to each of his three rivals. A son of Galileo out of the great racemare Six Perfections, it is fair to say the four-year-old has not quite lived up to his regal breeding. However, he ended a two-year winless spell when landing the International Stakes at the Curragh last month and perhaps that triumph will give him the confidence he needs heading into the second half of the season. Stellar Mass was beaten just a length into second place in the International Stakes and trainer Jim Bolger will feel he can reverse the form on 3lb better terms. Dermot Weld claimed this prize in four consecutive years between 2009 and 2012 and runs the exciting Eziyra, who has not been seen in competitive action since landing the Enterprise Stakes over this course and distance last September. The only three-year-old in the field, Jessica Harrington’s The King, completes the line-up. Tom Mullins is enjoying a good run of form and will be hoping to keep up the momentum at Foxrock. The Doninga handler enjoyed a double at last week’s Galway Festival, with stable stalwart Top Othe Ra and bumper mare Court Maid both striking gold. Mullins also recently sold exciting juvenile filly Mia Mento to Phoenix Thoroughbreds and she remains in the yard ahead of her potential run in Sunday's Group One Phoenix Stakes. Veteran rider Niall McCullagh rode Mia Mento on her Leopardstown debut and Mullins again turns to the Carlow native when Nam goes into battle for Thursday’s SMOKIE Handicap. Nam finished runner-up at Naas last time and could well improve enough on that effort to defeat 19 rivals in this one-mile heat. Nam’s stable companion Grand Partner did not come up to the mark at Galway, but has won four races already at Leopardstown and he can go well under in-form jockey Billy Lee in the Manguard Plus Handicap. Elsewhere, Enable’s half-brother Centroid begins for Khalid Abdullah, Dermot Weld and Declan McDonogh in the Irish Stallion Farms EBF Maiden. Meanwhile, the Grant Thornton Rated Race sees a trio from the Classic generation take on three older horses in what looks a closely matched affair. Johnny Murtagh’s youngster Sirjack Thomas is taken to get the better of Ice Cold In Alex and company.
