Australia’s Broome Sensational In the Ballysax

[Wandering Eyes]

A touch languid during most of his 2-year-old campaign, Ballydoyle’s Broome (Ire) (Australia {GB}) woke up with a spring in his step at Leopardstown on Saturday and duly demolished an intriguing cast assembled for the G3 P.W. McGrath Memorial Ballysax S. Now alongside the likes of Galileo (Ire), High Chaparral (Ire), Yeats (Ire) and Fame and Glory (GB) on the honour roll of this early Derby trial, he would not be out of place among at least two of them judging by this emphatic eight-length success. In last early with Ryan Moore keen to avoid the forcing tactics employed when second in the G1 Prix Jean-Luc Lagardere at ParisLongchamp on Arc day, the 5-2 second favourite warmed into the fast-run contest and had dead aim on stablemate Sovereign (Ire) (Galileo {Ire}) as he took on the lead-out role at the top of the straight. Sweeping aside that strong-galloping chestnut who sported Susan Magnier’s pink with 1 1/2 furlongs remaining, Broome was soon pounding clear in Tabor’s blue-and-orange to enter the Derby picture front and centre. Sovereign was four lengths ahead of Pythion (Fr) (Olympic Glory {Ire}) in third, with the field spread out in the testing ground and the 7-4 favourite Tankerville (Kitten’s Joy) finding disappointingly little in fifth after travelling notably strongly turning for home. As with most of the rest of the card, the time was very slow, over 10 seconds off the standard for the distance, revealing just what an impact the ground was having on the runners.

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